The Alabama governor made the announcement on Friday that she was opening up the Alabama Safer at Home order allowing restaurants, gyms, salons, houses of worship, etc. under guidelines recommended by the CDC. Many adults are excited to go back to work and get rid of their homeless hairdo. Many children are excited to get back to the playgrounds and libraries. Disclaimer: Now, I´m not saying just because we can, we should. You know yourself better than anyone else. Each person should know their limits-your doctors recommendations trump Governors orders.
Matthew 18:2-3 says, ¨He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. And he said, ¨Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.¨
After this quarantine, when I look at my children, I see work, neediness, noise, mess, and so much sticky. (Too much sticky). But, when Jesus looks at children, He sees an example for Christians. My kids are anxious for everything to open back up. Yes, they miss school and the parks, but you know what they miss the most? Church. Their Bible classes. Their youth activities. Their sense of peace during a pandemic.
Jesus goes on to teach in verse 6 to say, ¨If anyone causes one of the little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck to be drowned in the depths of the sea.¨ Ben and I went from a career of full time youth ministry to full time parenting instantly. When we became parents, we were bummed that we couldn’t participate in all the mission work we used to before kids. However, that didn’t mean our mission work was done. Oh, no. Quite the opposite, actually. Our work had just begun. These two sticky loudmouths are our mission field. They take the majority of our energy, and they should, because according to Christ, the mission work with my kids is a life or death situation.
Prior to COVID19, some of the things we knew we needed to do seemed like a chore:
Schoolwork: School was non negotiable. We sent our kids because we didn’t want them to gain too many absences, we didn’t them want to fail, and we didn’t want them to be underdeveloped. But, after doing home school for eight weeks, how easy it will be not to put as much importance on the work when we start back. The kids will feel the same way. So who´s going to set the example for them?
Athletics: When a game was scheduled, you played. We sat in the stands and cheered for our kids no matter what else was on our schedule. When we get back, after a few practices and workouts, our star players will see they are just as good as they once were. They will start second guessing themselves about how mandatory a mandatory practice is. So who´s going to set the example for them?
Church: Sunday mornings were easy, traditional, and expected. Bible class afterwards depended on the afternoon schedule. Wednesday nights were hard. Youth activities had to fall in place with the already scheduled extracurricular activities. After eight weeks of worshiping in flannel jammies, putting on the suit and tie is gonna be a struggle (not to mention adding the corona15, your pants may not even fit!). Home church has showed such convenience and comfort. So who´s going to set the example for us to get us back in the pews….willingly? Jesus tells us, in this case, that it is the children.
1 Peter 5:8 warns us that Satan is here on the earth. Right now. Traveling faster than corona. He is also seeking his next victim. He aint dumb; he knows our weak points and he tries to target us in those areas. Come on, you can´t be in comfy pajamas and say that you are not in a weak place! He is going to do his best to convince you that class time is not super necessary-after all, where is the scripture to back it? He will also make Wednesday nights even harder and Sunday nights a nightmare of an inconvenience. Also, he will get in your head to prove to you that making up for all the lost ball practices will overpower all the youth activities.
I am in that boat, too. I hear his whispers. Our church is opening back up Sunday morning, and I have already heard Satan whispering thousands of excuses in my ear about why we can´t make it. We are not immune compromised, we do not have plans, we can still fit in our clothes, and our elders are being wise and cautious with their guidelines about opening up the building. We are out of excuses, but as a lion sneaks up on his prey, Satan is always there to justify our human instincts to override our spiritual wisdom. When I need an example, I look to the children.
Ellie was telling me about a story she remembered from bible class. Jesus was preaching in a building where so many people were gathered to hear what he was saying. Clearly, social distancing was a thing of the future. A group of men had brought a paralytic man to see Jesus; he knew that if anyone could heal him, it would be this Teacher. They could not find a way in the house through any doors or windows because of the great turnout of listeners. But, they did not use that excuse. They went up on top of the roof and lowered him down to meet Christ. Jesus saw the faith of these men and healed the paralytic. Anything could have happened to this paralytic during this process. He could have let his defeated attitude turn negative, he could have fallen while being lowered from the roof, or he could have given into Satan´s whispers that Jesus did not want to see him because he was currently preoccupied teaching. But, none of those things happened. Because of the paralytic´s faith and God´s help to guide him to be in the correct, but inconvenient place, he was healed.
The church is a place of healing. The building, itself, is not the place of healing. That is because the church, itself, is not the building; it is the people. Ellie and Peyton are so ready to get back to the people who encourage them, teach them, inspire them, and guide them to live their life walking hand in hand with the Savior. It is a blessing-not a chore. If you have not felt this feeling about church before, you are not involved in the church. Meaning, be involved with the people! Not all up in the people´s business, but serving the people.
Listen…right now…do you hear Satan giving you negative excuses? ¨I have tried church, it was not for me.¨ ¨I know people who are hypocrites that go to church, I do not want to be like them.¨ ¨I have too much on my plate already.¨ ¨Serving people I do not know is uncomfortable.¨
Another lesson from the children: You cannot have CHANGE without PAIN. When kids go through growth spurts, they have painful mood swings and insane hunger habits. It is painful when they get their heart broken. It hurts when they get made fun of for turning down peer pressure. All of these things are painful, but they all give them the strength to grow up with wisdom.
I truly believe that this terrible virus plays out in our lives for the better, somehow. Maybe it gave us eight weeks to reflect. Maybe it encourages us to endure the pain and change. May we take what we have learned these past eight weeks and apply them to our lives in a positive way. COVID19 makes excuses so easy and justifiable, but you are greater than an excuse; you are worth more. So are your kids. Look to them. After all, they are the future-the Bible tells me so.
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