George Orwell once said, “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” His words, hardly inspired by Scripture, do nevertheless offer some insight for Christians amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
Many people—believers and non-believers alike—are wondering what we ought to be doing. By surveying the best—and worst—of what people of faith are saying, I would like to suggest these five things are a must for Christians. To state the obvious, these five are a given, put in acronym form.
Prayer—The old saying goes, you can do more than pray after you have prayed. But you cannot do anything until you have prayed. Prayer speaks to our reliance on God. Take time today in the Psalms. Lift up holy hands in prayer to the Lord, asking for His divine mercy and help for the sick among us, along with the countless other needs (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
Offerings/Giving—The Bible teaches that money shows our priorities. In this time of economic hardship, it would be easy to let tithing and other charitable giving slip. The work of the Church and the mission of the Gospel, though, require that Christians continue to give sacrificially (2 Cor. 9:6-8).
Worship—While the Coronavirus has taken away the ability to meet in the corporate worship settings to which we are accustomed, many churches are finding creative avenues for worship. This includes drive-in-movie style worship in the church parking lot, as well as Facebook livestreaming of service. We should also not neglect our personal times with the Lord each day (Rom. 12:1).
Evangelism—The world is looking for answers. Cable TV news has experts on their programs, night and day. In this time of hopelessness and despair, people could be more spiritually aware than usual. Whether by phone or Internet or even in person, find ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone this week (2 Cor. 5:20).
Reconnect—Fellowship is at the heart of Christianity. While ‘social distancing’ tears away from that fabric, Christians can fight the trend. Pick up the phone and call someone. Send a text. Set up a FaceTime call. Spend more time with your immediate family. Use this season of ‘social distancing’ to slow down and reconnect with others you may otherwise not have (Heb. 13:1-3).
Prayer, giving, worship, evangelism and fellowship. These are restating the obvious for Christians. But sometimes it takes extreme circumstances for us to be reminded of what we should have been doing all along.
