The Journey Forward
Greetings from First Church in the increasingly vibrant and reawakening Downtown Memphis. It's hard to fully remember what sights and sounds were present during the day before the pandemic hit but it's not hard to remember the incredibly eerie silence last year when everything shut down. When you are daily used to sounds echoing down the street of all the cars, sirens, people, and even the bells of trolleys, the silence when it all stopped was in a way deafening. Compared to the days before the pandemic, I'm sure today would seem much more quiet but what I hear as I write this article is the slow restoration of life and activity Downtown. It does seem as if the trajectory of re-emergence from our collective isolation is trending in the right direction every day.
Just life has always changed over time, when we fully emerge the way we live life together will be different in varying degrees. The way we worship together will be different. The way we meet together will be different. The way we serve together will be different. The way we love each other will be different. Not all or even most of the changes we experience will be because of Covid-19 and the isolation it caused. Many of the changes we experience will be just because things change over time. While many of our gatherings and activities ceased or reduced for a long time, none of us have been static. We've experienced great joy and blessings and great pain and grief. We've experienced loneliness and connectedness. We've had days of fear and days of confidence. Most of all God has not stopped His work in you even for a moment. The Apostle Paul gave assurance to the church in Philipi that God is doing a great and continual work in each of us with a promised completion date.
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6, ESV).
Even when we know the work of God within us is good and we know that He walks with us and before us into the uncertainty of the future, we still have a part of us that clings tightly to the familiarity of the past. As we move forward together in life and ministry, I have just a few tips in how we can orient ourselves to receive fully all God has for us:
- Be Patient-It is essential we are all even more patient now with others than we ever have been. You will not agree with the decisions of others about masks, vaccinations, and whether or not they are gathering yet. While these things are by no means insignificant matters, we must be patient and graceful to each other. We need to remember a whole lot of factors have gone into how and why people have decided what they decide. We have no idea what grief they may have experienced, the depth of loneliness they may have endured, or the fear they may known. I can often tell how deeply I am abiding in Christ by how patient and gracious I am with those I disagree with.
- Be Selfless - When we experience events that threaten our well being, even the most generous and selfless person is tempted to become self protective and narrow in their perspective. We all need to recognize the areas within us where we are concerned more about ourselves than we are of others. As followers of Jesus we are commanded to put aside our self serving attitudes and motivations put the needs of others above ourselves. As we come out of an extended time of isolation, it is essential we identify the ways we have become self centered and re-learn how to be in community together.
- Be Ready - We see God calling us throughout the scripture to live life with an expectant and active patience. We should be ready and eager to move forward while waiting on God open the next door for us. Each day will bring to each of us different opportunities to share the love of Jesus with others. All too often we miss those opportunities. Be ready and eager to recognize and act on every opportunity God places before us.
Let us all more deeply commit ourselves to working with Jesus as he is actively completing the good work he started in each of us and trust he will guide us each step of the way.