Winston Churchill once said ‘Never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before’. COVID-19 is clearly a serious crisis, with half a million deaths world-wide and counting, and an economic downturn every country will feel for years to come.
Yet Christians know that in ALL THINGS, including COVID-19, God is working for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28). So how can we use this pandemic for God’s glory? Well today’s sermon topic is on serving, which is (i) an important part of our ‘life together’ as Christians, and (ii) part of how we become like Christ, for ‘the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve’ (Matt 20:28).
While there are many reasons to feel low during a pandemic, one of the reasons may be that our regular ministry has had to cease under the necessary lockdown restrictions. Psychologists will often prescribe volunteer work for patients dealing with depression and the like. So if our regular ministries have been put on ice under the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, why not use this crisis as an opportunity to do things you did not think you could do before. There are 2 steps towards this:
- Take some time to look at the gifts and skills God has blessed each and every one of us with. It could be the gift of prayer, encouragement, mercy, generosity, teaching, music, etc. The first step to serving like Christ is to identify the gifts God has bestowed on you for service.
- Talk to the ministry team about those gifts, and investigate together some ways we could put those gifts to use at church, for God’s glory.
Do not let this crisis go to waste. Let’s think afresh about how we can serve our great God, who continues to serve us so selflessly.
