By David Phillips
I hope each of you had good worship experiences yesterday. Beth and I were able to find and use some really good resources online, but I’ll have to admit, there’s nothing like being there. As long as our church family is separated from being able to worship together, I thought I’d try to send out a few emails in which I’ll try to share some encouraging thoughts. We’ll call it Thoughts from Quarantine, but of course that’s a little bit of a misnomer. I’m definitely not quarantined, still working all day every day. I guess at the Water Works, we are considered “essential services”, since someone has to deal with all that toilet paper you’ve been buying.
In each of these articles, I’ll touch on a point or two, hopefully to help all of us keep our thoughts balanced and our attitudes in positive territory. Let’s start with the need to
Be realistic. I’ll be the first to admit that this entire thing looks a little different to me now than it did a week or so ago. I’m thankful that our nation’s leaders had the good judgment to pay attention to some of the early projections about what COVID-19 could potentially do. Thanks to some really ambitious (and sometimes unpopular) decisions on a large array of matters from travel restrictions and quarantines to red tape reduction and liability protection, our national leaders have taken a lot of proactive steps that have paid off. Of course, if the liberal news media in general is your single source for information, you may not have heard much of this, but it’s true. The USA is dealing with this pandemic more successfully than any other nation.
But even at that, this thing is pretty scary. We’ve never had to deal with anything quite like this. None of us have ever had to revise our thinking and planning and activities in just this way before. We are truly in a memorable time that is unprecedented for us. And for good reason. Look at a couple of facts:
- In sheer number of reported cases of the Coronavirus, USA is third on the list of 192 countries and territories, with 33,546 cases reported as of 8 PM last night. Only China and Italy have more reported cases. That fact is even more arresting when you consider that one week ago, USA was number 8 on the list, with 2,329 cases. However, there’s another side to this. If you consider the number of cases per million people in the country, USA is number 40. In other words, 39 countries and territories have more cases per million people than we do. That puts us in much better view, since we have such a large land mass, with much less dense general population. This is also why it makes sense to practice “social distancing”, and why it is not a good idea to bring together a large number of people in a big room, like a church auditorium or classroom.
- Also, just like many said it would, this virus is moving fast. Worldwide, more than 135,000 new cases were reported in the last 7 days. In that same seven-day period, 6,286 people died from COVID-19 related issues. Some countries are tending critically ill patients in tents and field hospitals reminiscent of the Korean War (think M*A*S*H). But not here. Not yet, anyway, in large part, because many of us are being careful with personal hygiene, social distancing, and isolation. There have been a few stories of people who are ignoring the health recommendations, but most of us are standing strong. Keep it up. There’s one more thing I’ll share briefly, and that is the need to Be Jesus.
Recently, Brother Kirk Brothers spoke on the challenges we are presently facing, and he reminds us that we are the hands, the feet, the voice, and the heart of Jesus to the people we come in contact with. So whether it is in Walmart grabbing a few necessities, or on social media venting your frustrations about cabin fever, remember to show everybody what Jesus is like. In these very unsure times, be an encourager; be a comforter; be a helper; be a Christian. Holiness means not like all the rest; different; set apart. Remember, God said You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Well, here we are, facing a new week that will no doubt hold some very dark clouds. But there will also be a lot of bright spots. Rejoice in the Lord. Let God’s SON shine in your life.