There is something special about the Easter weekend for born again Christians. Even our President spoke of the hope surrounding this calendar event in his speech. And while  this year was a rather unusual Easter, it’s significance remained because, as Christians, we get to celebrate how Jesus showed up for all humanity and showed up for the glory of God the Father. Jesus showed up in our salvation, taking our sins upon himself, enduring separation from the Father and dying in our place. Jesus shows up for us, not only in having conquered death and grave, but also in our ongoing sanctification – sealed with the beautiful truth that we have  a comforter and helper with us: the Holy Spirit. Now, with great anticipation, we can await for Jesus to show up again at the consummation, when we will rise to be with him forever in glory. 

These strange times present a great opportunity for us to show up too. We can never show up like Jesus did (we cannot even attempt to, because he showed up perfectly and sufficiently), but we can show up in our deeds and tell a dying world how Jesus showed up to save them. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

My husband and I have been chatting about how we can practically demonstrate the love we have for one another to a watching world. 

• Give sacrificially
• Check up on the elderly and widows in your community by giving them a call – they are some of the loneliest right now
• Pray for those who have lost their jobs and are in need
• If you have tenants, think of lowering their rent during these trying times 
• Pay your domestic helper or gardener, even if they aren’t coming to your home, and check up on them telephonically
• Club together with others to buy groceries online for those who don’t have much and have it delivered to their door 
• Send encouraging video/audio clips to people who you haven’t spoken to in a while: tell them you love them and share the gospel
• If you know of any orphan homes around you, buy essentials for them online and have it delivered to them
• If you have colleagues who don’t believe, perhaps share some devotional material with them and  go through it together using available technology

This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a start nonetheless! We can show the world how, in this Covid-19 period, we love not only in word but in action. We should be doers of God’s Word now more than ever, even during a state of lockdown. 

With the little the Lord has given you, think of how you can give to others. We don’t know how long this pandemic may be with us, but we may never have such an opportunity again. In our solitude, think of ways to show up! 

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As the coronavirus continues to ravage communities and the world at large, it is difficult to foresee the future or any positive outcomes for the church of Jesus Christ. In this series of articles, I would like to suggest a few possible positive outcomes after the lockdown. My hope is that these articles might help us to prepare well for life after COVID-19.

I believe there is going to be a greater appreciation for fellowship among the faithful people of God. Before we go on, let me emphasize; this greater appreciation for biblical church life will happen only among the people of God. Talk to any pastor today, one of the most discouraging things in pastoral ministry is a lack of faithfulness in attendance. Our world is hugely distracted. Priorities are all over the place. It takes very little for many of God’s people to abandon church gatherings on a Sunday morning. All the reasons that would have been inconceivable as reasons for missing fellowship a century ago seem to settle well with our generation. A Christian today can miss church because of shopping, laundry, studies, cooking, a minor headache, attending a wedding, visiting the sick, and many petty excuses. One of the reasons this happens is because we have become so familiar with this sacred institution that we now make light of it. We know we can drop it this Sunday and pick it up the next day. We think church gatherings will always be there, waiting for us.  

I believe there is going to be a greater appreciation for our freedom of worship. It is one thing to have the freedom to come and go as you please. It is another to have that liberty taken away from you. Knowing that even if you wanted to go to church, you would not be able to do so. You have been mandated to shut down the church doors with no precise date in sight for re-opening. For genuine believers, who have a clear understanding of the purpose of the gathering of God’s people, having this freedom taken from them is a big deal. There is a greater appreciation for church meetings among the persecuted church than those with total freedom to gather for worship weekly. There are millions of believers today who would do anything in their power to gather with fellow Christians for worship. For these believers, gathering for worship is risking one’s life. Today this freedom has been taken away from us. I hope there is going to be a greater appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy. 

I believe there is going to be a greater appreciation for the one-another ministry. Serious Christians are genuinely concerned about holding fast the confession of their hope in Christ. But they do this through face to face Sunday gathering and fellowship with other saints. False Christians settle for showing up at the church gathering to appease the conscious, sold to dead religion. Given a chance not to gather, they would take that gladly. False professors will accept any church cancellation gladly, with very little sorrow or resistance. Not so with God’s people; the people of the Lord know that to hold fast to the confession, they need the ministry of others. They need faithful pulpit ministry, corporate prayer, and to celebrate the Lord’s supper within the corporate gathering. The faithful know that they need to join voices with other saints in praise to the Lord Almighty, the King of all creation. Today millions of Christians across the world may be yearning to return to public worship, to be with fellow saints. Soon they will return with a renewed appreciation of Hebrews 10:23 – 25, the gathering of the saints. 

Today we have been shut out and cannot gather or see our brothers and sisters face to face. One way we “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” is by considering one another and steering one another unto good works. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of love. It is undoubtedly hard to consider those we don’t meet often. When we gather faithfully with other believers, we have the opportunity to hear of and see their needs. Many believers take this opportunity of helping others for granted; maybe they keep putting it off. During this lockdown, we are being reminded that we should make use of every opportunity we have to be a blessing to others. We are learning now that these opportunities will not always be there. It is a possible outcome that at the end of the lockdown, many of us will make use of every opportunity to bless someone in our congregation. 

Those who have no pleasure in gathering with the saints now have no business to look forward to the final gathering with the Lamb of God. There is a high possibility that the coronavirus lockdown has reminded God’s people of the temporary nature of our gathering. That one day, we will no longer gather here, but with the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Maranatha! 

This article was first published on this site  on April 11, 2020.

Written By Pastor Malamulo Chindongo of Antioch Baptist Church in Blantyre Malawi,  where he has been laboring since 2008. Author of Rethinking Guy/Girl Relationships 

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We’ve been locked down for 16 days in South Africa due to COVID-19. I have been floating from one day to another trying to balance home life, working from home and homeschooling my 5-year son. At first the pandemic felt surreal, so far removed from what I knew or heard. It felt foreign and unknown to my ‘comfortable’ Christian life. It actually started off as something we easily joked about in the work office until the numbers started spiking in China. Then, it spread from one continent to the next but it was still nowhere near home-Africa. So my husband and I went off on a trip to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. Five days later our president announced a lockdown for 18 March 2020, we had to get home before then. We did and that’s when everything changed. 

Anxiety attacks

The first week of lockdown was ‘normal’, I worked normal hours, gave my son activities and writing exercises and we’d cook together.  After our evening devotions I’d go onto Netflix and binge on pandemic movies as a way of figuring out how ‘others’ feel when calamity strikes. Of course, movies aren’t real but I found myself starting to have all sorts of nightmares and thinking “it’s the end of the world”. I didn’t guard my ear and eye gate as Matthew instructs us in Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

This binging of not so edifying content started to affect my mind and the meditations of my heart so I had to stop. I had to remind myself that as much as the world is falling apart, God is still in control. He knew this would happen , it’s no surprise to Him therefore it should not be a surprise to us. In such times we ought to look into scripture and remind ourselves what Paul said in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”.

Data predictions and total despair 

I scrolled news updates every evening trying to get to grips with the numbers but it made me numb. These numbers were unfathomable and it was getting too close to home, literally. My mom, who is an essential services practitioner, was on the front line. Day 10 of lockdown I found out a person near her workplace was infected with the illness and for the first time in a while I crumbled. The idea that my mom could get the illness made me swob like a baby. I called her, she had the most peaceful and calm voice. We both knew who was in control and the call ended an hour later with me being so edified and strengthened. 

Be still and know that I am God 

The following days I was reminded of the scripture “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). The writer tells us that God is our refuge and fortress, He never withdraws himself from his afflicted. He is our help constantly. That passage shows that even though they maybe terrible things on this earth, the child of God should not underestimate the faithfulness of God. We are not to fear. In fact ours is to be still and know that He is who he says He is; God!

How many times have we just continued with our ‘our lives’ and not had a second to just be still? How many times have we been on the rat race and tried to control everything? Well, what Covid-19 has taught me is that this season is for being still, looking to the maker of heaven and earth and knowing who He is. Being still is not easy, not being in control is not easy but I am called to do so, even in this very moment. Life has become so fast that I have forgotten to be still, I had forgotten who is really in charge of ALL things. I pray that as we continue in our lockdown in South Africa, we may come closer to God, meditate on His words and know Him again. May this season lead us to be still as the world around us crumbles.  

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