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| Pastor JD Greear. |
In a recent episode of
his podcast, Greear, pastor
of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, said that because Jesus told His disciples
that it was not for them to know the times or the seasons, nor the day and hour
of His return, “it’s unwise for us to say, ‘Hey, this indicates that the coming
of Jesus is right around the corner.”
“But having said that,
what I think Jesus is showing there, is that God uses things like this to
indicate and shake up the foundations of the world, telling them the
foundations they are standing on are fragile and there is a new reality,"
he clarified.
The epidemic is also
showing “God’s mercy,” the pastor explained, demonstrating that many of the
things we have trusted in — from the economy to the healthcare system — won’t
sustain us.
“You just think about
how something we can’t even see has rocked the foundations of our society,” he
said, stressing that even if the world recovers from the virus, “the economic
implications of this are going to be staggering.”
“God is saying ... the
world you are living in is not as secure as you think it is, and you need to
rethink the foundations that you have.”
When responding to the
crisis, Christians should first and foremost “heed wise counsel,” Greear
said.
“It’s not a time for
carelessness or bravado, nor is it a time for panic,” he said. “We all have a
natural bias. Some of us gravitate toward worst-case scenarios and doomsday
prophecies and we overreact. Others of us tend to brush aside reports as
hysteria or some kind of mainstream media political agenda. It’s probably the
wisest thing to recognize what your bias is and listen to an array of counsel.”
“Our disposition as a
church, at this point, is to defer to the CDC and our government,” he added.
“We believe this is why God gave us governing officials, and so in absence of
any compelling reason to not follow their instruction, that’s what we’re going
to do.”
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention advised young
people: Don’t take anything for granted, and even if you are low-risk, you
should take precautions for the sake of your neighbors. He quoted another Christian
leader, Andy Crouch, who once stated that, “love, not fear, is the reason we
should change our behavior.
Second, Greear
encouraged the Church to move forward in faith, not backward in fear.
“This doesn’t surprise
[God] and He’s going to give us the resources to be faithful,” he said. “What
does faithfulness look like? It’s not retreating in fear, it’s serving God in
faith. The early church wasn’t known for stockpiling ample food and ammunition
for themselves or spreading fear on social media.”
“Christian witnesses
throughout history have been known for hope, faith, and self-sacrifice,” he
added. “We do this because we follow a Savior who ran toward tragedy, not away
from it.”
Greear advised
Christians to care for the elderly, vulnerable, and hourly workers; buy gift
cards from service places; support healthcare workers, and participate in
church ministries.
“Proclaim hope,” he
stressed. “This is a time where God is shaking the foundations, and we have a
unique moment to step in and show Gospel hope, that when everything else around
us turns into shifting sands, we are able to say, ‘Christ is the solid rock and
all other ground is sinking sand.’”
Greear advised using
this season to develop good habits, encouraging listeners to view it as an
“extended Sabbath.”
“Don’t just make it
through this time. Redeem this time. Don’t waste your quarantine,” he said. “We
know that God does a lot of his greatest works in times when there isn’t a lot
of activity.”
He concluded by
saying, “I don’t know the future, but we know that while we’re alive we should
live. And what living looks like is growing in Christ, it looks like meeting
needs, it looks like making the Gospel famous.”
As the
coronavirus continues to spread across
the United States, a number of pastors and ministry leaders have offered advice
and encouragement to those uncertain of what the future holds.
Renowned apologist
Ravi Zacharias recently urged Christians
to “combine our faith and trust in God with wisdom and common sense.”
“Trust in God doesn’t
mean you’re careless in what you do. You have to protect your children, you
have to protect your family, and if the elderly are the most vulnerable,
they’re the ones we need to protect,” he said.
Zacharias urged
Americans to avoid falling into the “extremes” of panic and fear or “complete
indifference.”
“In America, we get so
used to comfort that when we find something is out of our control, it’s very
daunting,” he said, commending the U.S. government for “taking the lead” in
helping Americans “navigate” the virus.
“Be sober-minded about
it, don’t be cavalier about it. And make sure that at all times, your life and
your relationship with God and with your family is strong. That’s what’s going
to matter at the end of it all,” he advised.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/jd-greear-god-is-using-coronavirus-to-wake-us-up-to-fragility-of-the-world.html
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