Over the last few weeks, I have seen both the best and the worst oozing out of people. Some are taking social distancing seriously. Some are not. Some are taking great care to protect the vulnerable. Some are not. Some are actively looking for ways to help, to encourage, to care, to offer hope. Others sit comfortably in the safety of the cheap seats, looking for ways to criticize, judge and condemn. Some are gentle. Some are sarcastic.
So many more are fear-filled and hope-starved, gorging their minds while their souls waste away. Where is God? How can he let this happen? Is He even real? The world is in trouble!
And I’m hearing a variety of responses too. Calls to action and exhortations to “pull ourselves together” and “keep calm and carry on.” And although that message might be true, is it really the message that’s needed right now? Context is key. Look around you? What’s the climate? Maybe “pull it together” really is the timely message in your corner of the world. But in my corner of the world, I see something different.
Of course there’s fear everywhere. That’s not new, and I see it. Fear wears many masks. It mascarades as anger, intolerance, selfishness/hoarding, insensitivity and even violence. But you know what I actually see more of? Grief. Heavy hearts. People who are holding on to hope and courage, who are “soldiering on,” but just can’t help but feel their knees buckling under the weight of a broken world. Over here in our little corner of the world, I think what we really need is encouragment and reassurance. You too? Well good, because that’s exactly what Jesus offers.
“In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Jesus acknowledged their hardship first. He validated that life is scary and hard first, and then encouraged them to remember who he was. Not “get-it-together-man-you-can-overcome-this!” but “take heart” because I have already overcome this!
I remember back in the 90’s when the WWJD trend was in full church-culture regalia. Almost every Christian teenager I knew had the bracelet: What Would Jesus Do? It was a noble pursuit, it really was. But now, 20 (ish!) years later, with a little more life-living to sharpen my hindsight, I think we were asking too narrow question. Asking “what would Jesus do?” means that flipping tables over and calling people “brood of vipers” is a legit option! Again, context is key, and although there are times when those words might technically be true, they are not helpful coming from me, and unless I have an “omniscience ceritificate,” I’m hardly qualified to start flipping tables and judging the heart-state of others. Instead, let’s ask: What Is Jesus Doing Right Now?
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeramiah 29:13).
But how will we know what he looks like?
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Fred Rogers from Mr. Roger’s Neighbourhood aired several short, but heartfelt messages to try and help a devastated nation begin healing:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things on the news, my mother would say to me: ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and am comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers, still so many caring people in this world.”
He went on to say
“Thank you for whatever you do, wherever you are, to bring joy and light and hope and faith and pardon and love to your neighbour and to yourself.” – Fred Rogers
That’s what Jesus is doing now. That’s where God is in this. He is not wagging his finger, admonishing us to pull ourselves together. He is right where He’s always been, doing what he’s always been doing; loving us from close up. We serve a God who is acquainted with grief. We hold to a Saviour whose wounded hands are holding the wounded. He is the very image of the Father, stamped on human flesh. The very substance of compassion with skin wrapped around it. He’s in every act of kindness, every gentle word, every caring work. He holds every fear-pierced heart, every grief-stricken soul, and every tear-soaked face.
God does not social distance.
He is with them all. And he is with you now. Everywhere you see joy and light and love and hope, you are seeing him, Emmanuel, God with us. The kingdom of God is not a myth. The kingdom of God is not lost. The kingdom of God is not hiding, or out of reach. It is right here, right at eye-level, even when your eye-level is two feet off the ground, on skinned knees with palms full of gravel.
Do you see him? Can you hear him?
He’s saying something:
I have loved you with an everlasting love. I will never leave you or forsake you. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome it! When you pass through the waters I will be with you, when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body. Even as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you need not fear disaster, for I am with you. You are mine.
Having faith does not mean trusting God that nothing bad will ever happen to me. Bad things happen to believers all the time. It means that nothing bad that happens to me can destroy me. No matter what happens to my body, my soul will be unharmed, my eternity secure, whether taken down by lions in the first century or by a virus in this one. Faith is not oblivious, faith is observant. Faith is not blind, it is wide-eyed and attentive. It is not weak, it has grit. It looks for the promise. It looks for the help. It finds hope and grips it hard by the throat and will not let go. Faith is for the fighters, the survivors, the never-give-uppers, and the hang-on-a-little-longers. Faith knows pain is on a count-down timer.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Ps. 30:5).
So take heart my precious friend, for
“You are one in whom Christ delights and dwells. You live in the strong and unshakeable kingdom of God. The kingdom is not in trouble. And neither are you.” – James Bryan Smith
Kent Burdett says
Hi Jennifer. Thank you very much for your post. Your post reminded me of the importance of holding two things together at one time – that God, in Jesus, has overcome the world (John 16:33) and that the ruler of this world is still operating in power (John 14:30). It is difficult to convey to others that Jesus has overcome death while death is so much a part of our human experience. I suppose that the best that we can do is to hold these two realities in tension and not go too far one way of the other. Looking forward to your ongoing posts. Blessings!
Becky Hall says
So well said!
He is here; joy comes in the morning, new every day.
Thank you.