Life on the Pasture

I breezed through an article today titled “Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently.” It included opinions of 30 “macro thinkers” on how our world will be permanently changed as a result of the current COVID-19 outbreak. Quite frankly, if some of the opinions prove to pan out, I am concerned about the loss of personal freedoms and for the longterm effects on public acceptance of the Church.

There have been political upheavals throughout history. If you are a history buff who remembers the rise of Alexander the Great and the division of his empire, you may be interested in reading Daniel 11 which gives an amazing prophecy of what played out during that time as it affected Israel. And if you are interested in the history of the Roman empire, you may wish to review the lives of first-century emperors who ruled as Christianity began to spread. Political turmoil is nothing new.

So let’s just imagine a worst-case scenario in which people hungry for power make use of a panic-filled time not to work for the common good, but for their own means. And let’s just imagine that Big Brother has more control over citizens than we ever imagined (as in George Orwell’s classic novel 1984.) And let’s just imagine, for good measure, that the antichrist is revealed and the end times are ushered in.

For some of our brothers and sisters in the faith around the world, they are living in a world in which persecution and governments attempting to squelch the Gospel is the norm. I read a newsletter today from a missionary I know who was describing family members of a local believer being the ones stirring up persecution in their town.

One thing that has come out of this current pandemic is a fervent desire to pray for all affected, and for the Lord’s intervention and blessing upon all working to find a cure and those working on the front lines. As we bring those things to our Lord, we pray for our world in general and all our brothers and sisters in Christ, asking that He would strengthen us and sustain us in the one true faith, finding our peace and security in Jesus.

St. Paul simply says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray continually.” May that be our new normal.

– Pastor Schmidt