This strange period we are passing through is teaching us many things.
As things have been removed from us, we gain a fresh understanding of the part they play in “normal life”
To give you an example: our gathering together on a Sunday and midweek are not just times when we “receive information from the front”, they are times when we “share information with one another” as we talk before and after the service (hopefully not during the sermon!)
So, not meeting together, is making it so much harder to keep in touch with each other, so much harder to know what is going on in the lives of other members of the fellowship – and thus so much harder to be aware of needs and to reach out in love to each other.
This has come home to me in a new way in recent weeks.
Last night I was listening to an online sermon on 1 Peter 3v8: “Finally all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” It was both challenging and helpful – particularly to reflect on how can we keep on doing these things during a period when we aren’t seeing each other in the way we used to, and therefore not as easily aware of needs.
We are to be “like-minded”. That doesn’t mean that we will agree on absolutely everything – such as whether we think the government is doing well or badly in responding to Covid-19; exactly when and how the church should start meeting again! But it does mean that we should all be committed to the same fundamental goals of living for Christ’s glory, of seeking to support and encourage one another in our faith, of praying for and actively seeking for unbelievers to come to faith etc.
We are to be “sympathetic”. We are to have a heart-level concern for one another, a feeling for one another in the trials and difficulties we are facing. This requires actually knowing what trials others are facing.
We are to “love one another”. The Greek language has several words for love; this one is that refers to the love of family members for each other. As Christians we are family. We should have that same degree of love for one another as a well-functioning biological family has. This means we need to know what is happening to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are to be “compassionate”. If being “sympathetic” focuses on the level of feelings, “compassionate” is a more active idea. What can we actually do to help each other, to help one another in the needs they have – needs that we have become aware of?
We are to be “humble”. That means having a genuine understanding of our place in the universe – we are not the center of everything. It means having a willingness to play a quiet supporting role in the background. Humility also means being willing to ask for help: I’m not self-sufficient; I’m not the person who must always be serving others – sometimes I need them to serve me. Again this requires me to know how I can support others, and for me to – humbly – acknowledge my needs to them.
Praise God for the information that does come my way about how many members of the church are reaching out to support one another at this time; in many cases being very creative in the way they do this. It is hugely encouraging to hear.
But the ongoing challenge is that it takes a lot more effort to find out about needs, and, in some cases, to meet those needs, at the present time than it would normally do. We all need to make a real effort to keep informed, and have a willingness to “think outside the box”, if we are to be sympathetic, to love one another, to be compassionate and to humbly serve others and admit our own needs.
May God continue to give us wisdom as we consider how to keep in touch with others, and to love one another at this time, … and then grace to do so.
Tim
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