Covid and the Christian, What are we fighting for?

I experienced CHURCH in my room. It was a holy moment as a bold preacher validated the heaviness in my heart from the other side of a screen. I have searched for the words to describe the grief that seems to be settling deep into my soul of late. Is it the continued isolation here in California? Is it the lack of "freedoms" I have so easily assumed? Is it the entitlement from my American privileges or am I just plain tired? The bold preacher spoke to my heart when he suggested perhaps this is not about COVID19 but the bigger story of what was God could be writing in our culture. There are greater purposes He is cultivating.

"We were happy with our ‘gods’. Our entertainment, our hustle, our social interaction, our money, we were happy. And this is shaking us up. Let him rewrite your story. But the story is that perhaps God is re-centering us."

"What are you so puffed up about? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?" 1 Corinthians 4:7 TLB

Perhaps God is working divine purposes through a pandemic called COVID19. Perhaps his greatest desire is to work deeply in us and through us. Perhaps it is a time for us to turn from an attitude of assumption. To an attitude of gratitude.

My dear fellow Christian, can the church survive if we keep our doors closed? YES of course. It is not our church it’s HIS. The body of Christ has prevailed through much more than this. Of course this is not what we want, not what I want. I miss gathering so badly. I miss worshiping with others in real life. However, the purpose of the church was never to be stuck in a room. Maybe we are to fight for more than an open service or an open beach or whatever your political preferences are. Maybe we can give our selves to the great fight. The fight of faith hope and love. The fight for the other, the hurting, the widow, the orphan. Can we fight to be a community of health and hope standing in humility instead of fear? My dear fellow Christian, can we break our history of being known for what we are against and stand on the scripture--faith, hope and love--this is what we are FOR.