I recently read a devotion that set into motion a string of emotions from sadness to enlightenment to hope and finally reconciliation. You see, it was a devotion about the prodigal son. See Luke 15:11-32.
Trying to reach the "lost" is a common theme of chapter 15 of Luke but is also throughout the Bible. Long before COVID-19, I felt the pain of more and more Christians falling away from Christ. I, myself, drift in and out of Christ-consciousness.
Now, however, with a novel virus pandemic we are refraining from that which kept us close to Christ and to each other. Efforts to reach out to the unchurched are thwarted. Music and worship is muted. Interchurch gatherings have ceased. Breaking bread together is not safe. We all, in a sense, are the prodigal children.
As I read the devotion I saw "lost" in a new light; one in which we did not choose to leave, a lost that implies more transition, a time in which new ways to worship are being evaluated, a period where we neither know the future or how to get there.
This chapter brought hope back into the current picture. We have a new challenge among us. As the children of the King, we are never far from him. As the son makes a conscious effort to return home so must we make more conscious and, dare I say, creative ways to come home, stay home (but in the "stay-in-the-kingdom" way). Any thoughts?
For me, I have had to listen more. Look inwardly more. Find solace more. Reconciling the state of our world with the promise of tomorrow and the hope He brings. So, through this devotion I am reminded that he never leaves me, us. And now I, we, need him more than ever.
I hope you are all well. It was good to see some of you Sunday. I miss you all. God is with you.
Anna