26 March 2020
This Sunday will mark the 5th Sunday we’ve not been able to gather together to worship as a church. As COVID-19 continues to makes its way around the globe, Christians are faced with many questions, and certainly many concerns. In this difficult time, I praise God for John, Adam and others as they’ve helped me see that God has ordained this time for our good, and that he has plans and purposes for us in it.
There’s one area of growth though, that I feel God has really been focusing my mind on lately: my affection for my brothers and sisters at ambassador — particularly, my love for our Sunday morning gathering. I’m sure many of you can relate when I say that I’m saddened that we haven’t been able to gather as a church family. As each week goes by, I find myself increasingly longing to be with the family God’s given me. Here’s what I’ve come to realize though — this longing isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually God’s way of honing my love for His family.
In light of this, I thought I’d share with you two things God has been teaching me during this time:
1. Longing/Sorrow Caused by our Absence from Each Other is Good and Right.
In 1 Thess. 2:17, we see Paul expressing a deep longing for his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica: “But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.”
His deep love for the family of God is seen most clearly in his absence from them. I look at this and can’t help but think about our situation here at Ambassador. The online experience certainly has its blessings. We should praise God for the use of technology, allowing us to continue to be fed by God’s Word and to communicate and encourage each other. But the online format is not a substitute for the gathering of the church. When I FaceTime my family when I’m away, I am grateful for the connection we are able to have, but what I want most is to get home and hold my loved ones in my actual arms. I long to experience things together and live life with each other. So should it be with the church in this time of absence.
Similarly, its good and right for us to long for each other, to mourn the fact that the gathering and all God’s graces that He gives us through it are put on pause. God desires us to have a genuine love for being together, and feeling sorrow when we’re apart can be a means by which God grows that love.
2. Christian Fellowship is a Gift — not a Given.
Not all Christians experience the weekly blessing of Christian fellowship. The reality is that thousands of Christians all around the world are forced into small groups or isolation by various situations. Dietrich Bonhoerffer, a pastor who was himself imprisoned, isolated from believers and eventually killed during the Nazis reign, writes of this in his book, Life Together:
“It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace that any day may be taken from us. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege is living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: it is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”
Friends, let God use this trial to sharpen your appreciation for the gift of Christian fellowship. And when we do return to meet (Lord willing), don’t take our meetings for granted. Don’t miss the graces God offers us through the Sunday service — the embracing of a close friend, the welcoming of a visitor, the sitting under God’s Word together, the sharing of the Lord’s Supper, the sound of our voices swelling in unison as we sing Christ’s praises. Only the Lord knows how long He will grant us to gather together in worship; so when we are back together in the
Conrad, let’s delight in it with great joy, to the glory of God.
What should we do, then, to help us grow in these ways? Three quick applications:
1. Pray. Pray for the people at Ambassador by name, for their needs, their health, and for their spiritual wellness and boldness with the gospel. Pray for yourself, that God would give you a greater closeness and delight in your brothers and sisters at ambassador. And pray that we’d be able to gather as a church again soon.
2. Reach Out. Even when love for our neighbors demands social isolation, messaging and video chatting are great ways to stay in touch. It won’t be the same as in person, and that’s ok. Let yourself mourn that fact, but also let God use it to grow your love for each other.
3. When our Gatherings Resume, Make Attending a Priority. We don’t know what the future will hold, which ought to make us lean into to what God gives us today and everyday — especially when he gives us the gift of meeting together as a church.
My prayer is that, for however much longer this lasts, God will deepen our love for each other
and for our gatherings, so that we can truly say with the Psalmist, “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord!”(Ps. 122:1).
Miles Bennett
