We Bow to the Crown

This whole coronavirus thing . . . it is consuming people. They are baptized into the fear of COVID-19! We have put it on the throne. We give our time, attention, energy, resources—all to “the king” virus. It is probably no irony that it is a coronavirus . . . corona means crown. Who will we crown as Lord in our life? Not just by flippant claims made on Easter Sunday, but by the way we live our lives. Whom shall we fear? Fear is not from the Lord. Where, oh death, is your victory? Where is your sting? I shall fear no evil, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Our society is COMPLETELY being taken over by this thing that could take our life . . . our physical life. But the Bible tells us, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28 NIV). I have found myself wondering . . . Is the goal to not die? Or is it to live?

I wonder what God is thinking of us now. Even some of the strongest Christians in my life talk only of this virus—the deaths, the spread, the masks, the ventilators, the stories repeated on the news . . . where does our hope come from? We should look different! We should not look like the rest of the world. We can still be respectful and social distance and cover our mouths and wash our hands. But we should be thinking of and praising and lifting up our Lord MORE than we think or speak of this virus. In all of this, however, though I may be “right,” I’m afraid I have been looking less like Christ. Crabby, ornery, short-tempered. How do I stand up for God and still look like Christ? Hmmm . . .

I am realizing how much I miss my ministry!!! I am no longer allowed to go into the jail, the behavioral health center, the halfway houses, the juvenile detention center. It used to be that I would find myself waiting for the weekend to end, where I am more “normal,” so that I could go back to my crazy walk with the lost and the broken. Most people find themselves “making it” through the week so they can recharge on the weekends. I find myself charging myself all week and, while I enjoy my weekends, I can’t wait to get back at it.

This crazy coronavirus season gives me time to reflect on what I am missing. What is “charging me”? Is it God? He hasn’t gone anywhere! Is it my service? Who am I doing it for, anyway? Who am I trying to impress? Do I miss captive audiences (quite literally!) where I get to espouse my beliefs and convictions, largely unchallenged? While bits of these may be true, I do really believe what I miss is being with others who are consumed by God! People who, that’s all they want to talk about. People who are not comfortable. People who NEED God. People who have hope, in the worst of circumstances, because they KNOW God. Not just know of him, KNOW him. People who see him at work. People who put their trust in him. I am missing my mission field . . . what does it look like now?

The whole world is consumed because of the fear of death . . . what if we were just as consumed by the Lord of life?! Are we, maybe, to fear the Lord? Scripture says that all the time . . . we have really softened it in our culture. The fact that we aren’t consumed by God is a reflection that we don’t really fear the death we should. It is not the death of this physical body we should be worried about. This life is just brief and momentary. There is eternity ahead of us . . . and that is a long time.

What if, rather than coronavirus, all our thoughts were consumed by him? What if, rather than sitting in front of the TV hanging on the words of the president and the director of the CDC and scientists, we couldn’t wait to sit down and read scripture and hear from the Lord? What if, rather than every conversation turning back to talk of this virus, every conversation began to be about God? What if on the door of every business, rather than a reminder to wash our hands and practice social distancing, there was a reminder to pray and to love your neighbor? What if, rather than a worldwide pandemic (that will destroy our bodies), it was an awareness of our sin (that will destroy our soul) that moved us to worldwide action and unity? What if, rather than being hypervigilant of those around us as “germ carriers” we were just as aware of them and their brokenness and need? What if, rather than trying to keep at least six feet from people, we were just as worried about drawing them close and loving them well?

So, how do I respond? How do I behave in these crazy times? I may be “right” and maybe we should all be focusing on God more. BUT, how do I let God be magnified on the altar of my life? I don’t think my short fuse and critical tone is magnifying God very well! If I was filled with the Holy Spirit, I wouldn’t be acting this way . . . A-ha! If I am watching the news and filling even my visits with godly friends with talk of the virus, I am no different. I have been filling with and focusing on the wrong king! If I am not getting to go do my ministry and pour out the love of Christ and witness the transformations, my fuel is running low. My ministry in this time may be to remind others of this. To point people back to Christ. To not allow it to consume us. To find people who will talk about GOD, not the coronavirus. I look like the fruits of the flesh listed in Galations 5 rather than the fruits of the Spirit. I need more Jesus! I need to (continuously) be filled with the Holy Spirit!

“Do not be afraid of those who kill

the body but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, be afraid of the One who can

destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28 NIV

“You shall have no other

gods before me.”

Exodus 20:3 NIV

“Dear children, keep

yourselves from idols.”

1 John 5:21 NIV

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever

is true, whatever is noble, whatever is

right, whatever is pure, whatever is

lovely, whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy

—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8 NIV