Hello, everyone. Today’s blog post will be a little bit different. Unfortunately, I have no corporate evangelism stories to recount. Everything we’ve planned for this month has been recently cancelled, much to our disappointment.
From the title of today’s blog post, I am sure you can guess what it is about. These days, it seems like everything on the internet is about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. As a bit of an update on how the virus has affected me, my last semester at college has been moved to online schooling. There will probably be no commencement services in May either. This is kind of a bummer, but I think it is more so for my family and husband than for me. I am out of work for then next two weeks, but the Lord has been gracious and my employers will continue to pay me. My husband is able to work from home and we have been making do in the early days of quarantine!
In times like these, where many things are out of our control, it is easy to succumb to anxieties about the fate of our families, friends, and even ourselves. Thus, the reason for this post: to encourage you all to share the Gospel, the very reason we have hope, in the small ways you can.
Death is a reality. Christ is King.
Hebrews 9:27 “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement, “
This anxiety that we may have felt in the past weeks for family, coworkers, friends, and ourselves is a good reminder of the reality we face every day: death is a reality we must all face (given that the Lord does not return first). Even to the Christian, death is not a “good” thing. Death is alien to us– it is an enemy because it is the result of sin (Romans 5:12). However, we are different from unbelievers because we are able to look toward our heavenly dwelling through the person and work of Jesus Christ and have hope (2 Corinthians 5:1-10).
Thousands of people have died from COVID-19 at the time of writing this, and across the country where I live there seems to be a new emphasis on our own mortality. This emphasis has the opportunity to be depressing to us as we think on earthly things. However, when setting our eyes on Christ we are able to see it as the most wonderful opportunity: the opportunity to readily share the Gospel with those whose minds and hearts have been reminded of the reality of death; we know that after death comes judgement.
As Christians, our work is focused towards our heavenly dwelling. (2 Corinthians 5:9). There are no ‘retired’ Christians; we live to do God’s work. This includes sharing the Gospel with the lost. Our gratitude toward Christ and our love for the lost should always result in the desire to share the Gospel; too often our hearts grow dull to this great treasure that we have (1 Corinthians 9:16). Let this event, though horrible in that it causes severe illness and death, renew our hope and gratitude for what Christ has done for His people.
Lastly, I would like to state something that one of my elders said in a sermon (to be truthful, most of what I have said was derived from the same sermon). The quote is this: “If we don’t desire to actively be with the Lord, that is a sub-Christian mindset.”
This is wholeheartedly true, and we can see that when examining 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Let this be our mindset, to desire to be with the Lord. While we are not with the Lord, let us make it our aim to please Him by sharing the gospel and growing in holiness. I say this as someone who fails every single day to keep His commandments, and as someone who sinfully thinks of her own comforts more than the fate of the lost. Please, share the Gospel with that family member, or coworker, or friend. As we see heightened death rates, remember that there is no guarantee for any person to live another day, regardless of if they have COVID-19 or not.
If you have any experiences you’d like to share, let me know! You can comment below, or send an email.
#theology #calvinism #school #children #virginiabeach #god #christianity #kindness #pragmatism #youtube #christ #friendship #raycomfort #catechism #podcast #evangelize #gentleness #christian #ToddFriel #coronavirus #evangelism #hell #faith #gospel #work #reformed #lord #joy #law #discipleship #postmodernism #friends #video #tract #love #heaven #life #oceanfront #tracts #class #mercy #virginia #reformedtheology #Jameswhite #religion #missions #truth #sin #pride #savior #college #beach #hamptonroads