In the past few weeks, it seems that information keeps coming faster and faster. This new study shows…….and then days later, more information comes out and then things are nowhere near as bad as what was first thought. I'm not saying that everything is fine by any means, just making the point that of the 10,000 new stories per day, a lot of them don't pan out in a few days time.
I remember first hearing about the “murder hornets” that were surely coming for us all. I actually audibly laughed as I read a headline with the name the first time. They are known to attack as a pack. They can kill livestock. I even saw video from somewhere in the world where a few of them attacked a mouse. Scary stuff. It reminds me of how the media changes the names of things that have been around for centuries. In the recent past I remember noticing the term “polar vortex”. It makes it sound scary! It makes it sound rare! It sounds new! Like something we should pay closer attention to! However, in reality, these were formerly known as Arctic Fronts, or Alberta Clippers. Its basically when the cold air dips down further south than normally tracked for periods of time.
In the same way, It turns out, after days of hype and videos and scary details, that the real story is that TWO DEAD hornets have been found in the U.S., and ONE HIVE has been destroyed in Canada last year. Not exactly the buzzing doom cloud coming to sting everyone to death as first described and imagined.
The common thread that I keep seeing is fear. Deep down at the core of this new information, fear is stirring. Fear connects with emotional reaction, which gets our minds spinning with “what if” type scenarios, which generates disturbing images, which motivates us to take some type of action. Whether that be sharing something on social media, telling friends, or protesting, or any of the other ways people have expressed themselves in the last two months.
Now, we who are Christians need to take a moment of pause here. HOW WE ARE REACTING AND ENGAGING WITH THIS INFORMATION MATTERS. Has God lost control? No! Is He surprised by any single thing thats happened recently? Not a chance! So, believing this to be true, what should our reactions look like? Sharing in fear and conspiracy theories? Helping people along in their “what if” scenarios? Adding to the noise of how horrible our State and Federal Government Officials Are? Lord No!
Brothers and sisters, we have hope! We are found in Christ Jesus! We know who is in control, and we know that no matter what is happening in the world, God’s Love wins in the end!
So knowing these things, gives us a responsibility! The world is looking to us for hope, not fear! The world is looking to us for love, not judgement! The world is looking to us for truth, not fabrication! We must act as people with hope! Because we are the only ones who have it! Only those who are found in Christ Jesus have the knowledge of how this story ends!
The Church has been around for over 2000 years. It has seen great persecution, it has seen freedom, it has seen highs, and lows. The church has not and will not ever cease to move forward. Consider the picture of the tree below. For a time, it was probably challenging for this tree to figure out how to deal with this fence, and still maintain being a tree. This tree more than likely looked different and grew different for a time. But now from the sky above, this tree stands with the others around it, just as it was intended to. So it is with the Church. The Church finds a way. There is always hope, because the body has always prevailed.
Use this lens. Operate out of this place. How can I spread joy today? How can I show love today? How can I minister to people I know and love that must be so incredibly fearful? How can I show them where the only real hope comes from? Its so dark right now, and our lights should all be shining brighter!
Grace and Peace to you.
Grace and Peace to you.
LUKE 12:22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
Also SEE: Psalms 23:4, Psalms 34:7, Psalms 91, Psalms 94:19, Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 31:6, Isaiah 41:13-14, IITimothy 1:7, Luke 12:22-26
