“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
Romans 12:11-15 ESV
How can we live as the family of God during a pandemic? This question has been on the minds of those who love the Church, both in leadership and in the body. It helps to remember that the Church has existed for about 20 centuries and survived every kind of circumstance you can imagine. The principles from God’s Word apply in any season.
A Strange Time
In Romans 12, Paul is telling the churches in Rome how to live together in light of the Gospel. The churches there were, like us, living in a strange age. The Jewish members of their churches had faced greater persecution than the Gentile members, and the churches were caught between two cultures. They were learning how to love one another well.
Likewise, this pandemic is affecting each family in our church differently. Some are business owners and are concerned about the future, others work in industries that are busy and getting lots of overtime. Some are healthy and thriving, others are sick or vulnerable. Some are struggling to teach kids at home, others don’t have school-age children. Some are mourning the loss of loved ones, others have not suffered that pain in this season.
Like the churches in Rome, who were coming from many different situations to live as God’s family together, we too are learning how to support one another in vastly different personal circumstances. We want to identify with our brothers and sisters and care for one another.
Don’t Be Slothful
This is a season for many of us to rest from busy-ness, but it is not a time to be slothful in zeal. There are still many needs to be met, and these are opportunities to be generous. We serve the Lord by serving one another. We contribute to the needs of the saints in a special way when people are vulnerable in their needs. Hospitality in this season is difficult when we can’t have people into our homes and churches. But we can creatively serve one another and meet each others’ needs (from six feet away).
Rejoice, Be Patient, Pray
We can rejoice, be patient, and be constant in prayer only because this is how God acts toward us. He rejoices over us (Zephaniah 3:17); He is patient with us (2 Peter 3:9), and He is constantly available to us (1 Peter 3:12). We are made in His image and He is making us more like Himself so we can represent God to one another. That’s true in every season.
Bless your Persecutors
Blessing our persecutors might mean being extra kind online. Or it could mean showing godly patience with grumpy people in stores. Or maybe going out of your way to serve someone who doesn’t know the Lord, showing them God’s care in a scary time. This pandemic is an opportunity for us to be calm and steady people who put their hope not in health and prosperity, but in the unshakable character of God. He can use our demonstrations of faith to do His transforming work in others’ lives.
Rejoice and Mourn Together
Rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep might be the most challenging part of this pandemic life together. We can’t go to weddings. We can’t go to funerals. We can’t put our arms around our hurting friends, or give high fives to our graduates.
Perhaps the best way to rejoice and weep together right now is to go low-tech. Phone calls are meaningful – they require more time and thought than clicking “like” on someone’s post. Letters and cards are a blessing– they are a tangible sign to another person that you’ve taken time to think about them and encourage them. Sending small gifts lets others know they are on your mind and heart. This is a great time to go back to simple ways of showing love for one another.
Even if we aren’t meeting on Sunday mornings, we are still the Church – the family of God and the body of Christ. It’s still our joy and privilege to love one another, as Jesus has loved us.
-Mark Siverling