a christian’s contemplations on corona
Disclaimer: I will say that being very distant from those more closely affected by COVID-19 that parts of my commentary may be insensitive to your plight. Thus, I apologize for not being more conscious to your situation. Whether that be those in the hospitals, factories, grocery stores, or for those whose economic well-being has been significantly affected, or for those whose loved ones have been affected by COVID-19, I continually pray for you guys every day. I hope that the Lord would sustain you and keep you through this time and that He would continually make His grace known to you. ☺️
In light of recent events, I’ve had a lot more time to think about how the pandemic fundamentally affects the day-to-day lifestyle of people, especially on a social level. As I try to think about these things with a Christ-centered mindset, these thoughts randomly started to coalesce into three main categories, shown below.
- Friendships
The pandemic has resulted in governments enacting drastic measures, such as closing “non-essential” businesses and strongly discouraging large gatherings. Sadly, it is harder for people to meet up in person because of social distancing practices in efforts to slow down the spread of the virus. Thus, a lot of us, myself included, rely on technology such as video and voice chatting to keep up with friends. It has personally challenged me to be more intentional with my friendships, since there are limited avenues to connect with them. There are a lot of interesting notions that have surfaced as a result in this change of dynamic, but one stands out in particular as I continue to video call more of my friends to keep up with them. I’ve began to notice that there are intangibles with meeting up in person that simply cannot be replicated with technology. The unprecedented situation right now only helps to nurture the appreciation I have with physically seeing my friends in the flesh with my own two eyes.
As I reflect on this innate gap, I think about how God has designed each and every single human being to have friendship and community. While video technology can help fulfill this desire to an extent, I find there is still something…missing. Perhaps it is that I can read people better when seeing them in person and see the full context behind their speech. Seeing friends in person means I am able to observe people’s body language and better gauge their emotions, thus allowing me to respond accordingly. Perhaps it is this authentic connection forged between friends when they interact with each other in-person that allows for empathy and vulnerability to be shared and received to its fullest extent. Such practices can be fully conveyed through use of the five senses in-person, whereas meeting online limits those senses. Perhaps it is that when we see our friends in person, we don’t see the image that is potentially portrayed by them on social media. We see them for who they are and how they truly express their emotions. Perhaps it is that a friend’s presence can be felt more in person compared to seeing them on a computer screen, especially when there are more opportunities to share life in-person with them.
I am constantly fascinated with how God designed the human race not just uniquely, but also uniformly in His image. With regards to this uniformity, God has designed every human being to be relational — to have sustained friendships. For these friendships to continue and evolve, meeting in-person is important in order to fully share life together. In my opinion, these subtle details mentioned above only underscore the mechanisms in which God has designed us to optimally share life together. Let us definitely look forward to the day that we do not have to practice social distancing anymore and meet each other in-person. For me, it will most likely be quite an emotional and visceral experience. Until then…I’ll have to make do with seeing friends at a distance.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will left up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
2. Priorities
In today’s society, there are a plethora of activities to take up outside of work that completely fill someone’s schedule outside of work. Restaurants, concerts, games and volunteering are just some examples that come to mind. When COVID stripped all those avenues away, I think it revealed more of people’s hearts and ultimately, their priorities. Panic stocking of supplies and price gouging of hygienic products are standout activities that expose the selfish and sinful nature of humanity. Although notable, that is not the focus of this point. Rather, the other activities that people take up to fill the influx of time in their schedule stands out to me. More and more time is spent on digital mediums, whether that be playing games online, web surfing or keeping up with the endless wave of news on the pandemic (myself included). When I check my Instagram videos, there are a lot of “challenges” circulating around, from TikTok dance videos, Bingo squares to embarrassing photos. There definitely isn’t any harm with spreading joy and a couple of laughs (Proverbs 17:22). There isn’t any harm with unwinding and having fun with seemingly trivial things — I’ve done it as well.
However, what if there’s a better use with the time we spend waiting out the spread of the pandemic? What if this season is an invitation from God to draw near to Him and know Him? To soak in His Word, be still and know that He is God? Back when lives were filled with busyness from more commitments, it was definitely more difficult from my experience to spend time with the Lord. But now with more time to ourselves, perhaps we can use it to draw near to the Father. To have more time to delight in Him, to meditate on His Word, and to grow in our trust of the Lord, who would not shy away from the opportunity? Why spend the time engrossed in entertainment when we can know the heart of the Heavenly Father more?
Personally, I’ve been able to spend this extra time in His Word and in prayer through my long walks in the surrounding neighborhood. Perhaps there’s grace given by God through this time of social distancing for us to find rest in Christ, to be still in the presence of the Lord and to ultimately grow our faith in Him through this tumultuous time. Although others around us might see this time of imposed isolation as a detriment or even punishment, perhaps this might be a treasure trove for the Christian to strengthen their faith. I do not discount the challenges posed to families having to take care of their children or to extroverts that get their energy from being around people. However I personally challenge you — when so many activities are stripped away from us, do you turn to God’s invitation to know Him?
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:19–21
3. Expectations
As governments impose new laws outright banning social gatherings to curb the spread of COVID-19, churches have had to significantly alter the way they conduct Sunday services, fellowships and ministries. Thus, a lot of human constructs and definitions that we have placed on a lot of these functions are being heavily challenged and stretched. Church leadership is thus forced to redefine how mission, fellowship and Sunday service are executed amidst other activities. Since the majority of church activities heavily rely on interpersonal connection, it is currently impossible to carry out our current practices to serve each other. By extension, it is harder to serve others in the broader community.
While this observation is interesting, something that has dawned on me is how everyone’s expectations in life are pretty much put on pause. Vacation plans, ministry start-ups and meetups with friends are just some examples of endeavors that have had to be postponed. Obviously, it was frustrating for a lot of people with external circumstances forcing them to quickly shift gears with their daily routine (myself included). However, as I reflect more on these disappointments, perhaps there is something to take away.
What if God is currently working through our disappointments through our expectations not being met? Through our plans not being fulfilled?
I’ll share with you a personal experience. About a month ago, I was preparing to volunteer at a conference. My role at this conference was coaching some of the volunteers that were more directly involved with the efforts of guiding the attendees through the activities in this conference. Most of this conference revolves around in-person interactions, so it was a big disappointment when the announcements were made to cancel the conference outright. However, the leadership announced soon later that the conference would shift to an online format, using Discord. How that work was beyond my comprehension at the time.
As our fellow coaches and volunteers began to readjust the format of the interactions, it was kind of amazing how surprisingly calm some of them were in midst of the uncertainty that lay ahead of us. The amount of faith they had in the Lord to work in this situation, in hindsight showed me the state of my heart at the time (more on that later). This observation was only proven more and more correct as the conference progressed. As I observed the attendees getting to know each other throughout the entire conference, I was amazed at how quickly they were able to connect with each other and be open in their discussion. Even more astonishing was how they did so without seeing who the attendees were in the flesh (this is something I’d mightily struggle with). The most astounding feat? The fact that there were attendees that came to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The fact that the Lord can use the Gospel preached over an Internet live stream to changes hearts and thus bring people into His Kingdom is still something that still remains beyond me.
Perhaps this conference taught me the high value I place in my own expectations being met. In hindsight, perhaps this conference exposed my desire for control and security, rather than trusting in the Lord’s plan for His people and witnessing His work in them. The Lord does not fulfill His plans according to our expectations. Isaiah 55:9 only accentuates this truth — “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts”. Such Scripture indicates that God’s plans for us are going to be difficult, if not impossible for us to understand.
Can we trust that as our expectations, plans and dreams are unmet that the Lord’s plan for us in this trying time is better? In these trying times, it may seem as if God is against you. However, is that all you can see? Can you see your circumstances are somehow signs of God’s goodness towards you? Consider the story of Ruth and her mother, Naomi. To give some historical context, it was a great blessing for families to have children. To have grandchildren was an even greater blessing. However, in this story Naomi’s husband and sons have perished, leaving her with her daughter-in-law in Ruth. Throughout this whole story, Naomi complains about her situation even to the point of requesting people around her to call her by a different name — Mara, which means “bitter”(Note that names carry significant weight in the Bible). To summarize the rest of the story, Ruth eventually meets a man, gets married and has a child which turns out to be great for Naomi. However, the lesson to learn from this story is Naomi’s outlook on her situation, which is quite similar to a lot of our experiences. When our life situations turn more bitter, does our focus narrow in on how we are negatively affected? Or does our focus stay on the Lord, trusting that He is working in us and making us more like Jesus (Eph 1:4)?
So even though the path before you is dark in this unprecedented time, know that you have God’s Word as a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Ps 119:105). Commit your works to the Lord, and He will establish your plans (Prov 16:3).
Adjusting to this new lifestyle has been pretty tough for a lot of people. However, it is a shame to think of this time of “idling” as a complete waste. After all, this time of physical distancing is a rare opportunity for us to examine our hearts and look to the Saviour. Yes, we should be finding ways to serve others around us, especially those more vulnerable to contracting COVID. At the same time though, we should continue to seek the Lord even more in this time of uncertainty. We should continue to strengthen our faith and trust in the Lord in this time. And hopefully in the near future, there will come a day where we will not have to physically distance ourselves from each other ever again.
Hope all of you are doing well and please keep in touch.
-Arthur
