Yesterday morning, I saw this on Facebook: “Satan is winning, churches are canceling services. Prayer warriors get loud, we need Jesus now more than ever!”
My response: “I believe we need Jesus, but I will never agree that Satan is winning. For the first time in a long time, churches may have shut their doors, but buildings are not the church, people are. And when we reach out to those in need, to the frightened, to the lonely, no one is asking what denomination we are or how big our churches are. All they see is Jesus and that’s how it’s supposed to be! Close the buildings and the church must focus on something other than itself!”
For too long the church has been focused on itself. We want our churches to have the best coffee bars, ATMs in the lobby, nice seating areas, music that wows us and every other amenity we think necessary for our Sundays. Well, church, we don’t have that now.
What we have is Christ Jesus in us, “the hope of glory.” What we extend to the world is His Hand in their sorrow, grief, fear, and loneliness. They don’t care, really, about what denomination we are when we are sharing our toilet paper and eggs across fences or calling them to break up their lonely days.
For years now we’ve been asking for God to bring us those who need salvation, those who are hurt, or in bondage. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen a great flood of those people bursting through my church doors. Instead of bringing them to us, God is taking us to them. And He’s making us be creative in how we do it. Through telephones, across fences (with 6-ft separation), in social media, by thanking and praying for those on the frontlines.
So, rather than weep that our doors are closed, let’s rejoice that the world is open to us in ways we never dreamed!
