It’s time we talk a little about Coronavirus.
We are a church, an ekklesia, an assembly or gathering, which means that part of our identity comes from being together physically as one people. The nature of the church has no real meaning if we aren’t able to make contact, to love one another, to speak to each other and allow the word of God to spread among us and infect us and do its dangerous and transformative work in our lives.
How should we respond if we are fearful that it is not only the word of God that might spread when we’re together? Now, for once in my life I find myself in strong agreement with a football manager – in this case, Klopp. There is a lot of two-penny punditry out there, and I don’t want to add to the noise.
That said, I think that since we are Christians, I must remind you of one very important thing: fear is not our way.
If you are not a believer in Jesus, you have good reason to go through life with absolute unrelenting terror. You don’t have a Lord who is sovereign over your life and with you in death. This is why fear is a potent currency in our secularist age. The media must attain clicks and views, and fear has a certain purchasing power that causes news outlets to focus on what frightens us – be it disease, economic ruin, or Greta’s predicted global catastrophe.
Giving way to fear is therefore atheistic, and I would encourage you to keep that in mind as the days and weeks unfold. One of the defining marks of believers in Jesus – especially marked at points in history when they faced threats and diseases that made Coronavirus look insipid – is that they faced life with courage because of the certainty of our future with Jesus and his lordship in the present moment. An anxious and fearful Christian has too small a view of Christ in his absolute authority and sovereignty.
In the Bible, fear and love are opposed. So, when God’s people give way to fear they stop loving. You can see this in the prejudiced avoidance of Asians because of the fear they might be carriers of this disease; perfect fear drives out love.
So, while the world gives way to panic and stops buying Corona beer, can I urge you to switch off the news, meditate on the greatness and goodness of Jesus, and move towards his people with love? We ought not avoid each other out of self-protection and fear. We ought not neglect the lonely and needy among us by isolating ourselves unnecessarily. We ought not deny our gifts and our presence and our words of love and comfort to one another in the gathering. We ought not add to the climate of fear by acting as though everyone around us are carriers. We ought not fear, because we love, and because Jesus loves us.
Those of you who want to think through a Christian response in more detail should read this excellent post which helps put this disease in perspective medically and historically.
Update: we are keeping this page up-to-date with any news affecting our church: