Greetings!
As the circuit breaker ends and we gradually resume the many activities of work, study, recreation and life, we will begin to realize that life will never be the same again. We cannot rewind to what it was like before Covid-19 hit. We are now older, hopefully wiser, maybe heavier and a little more experienced as fellow sojourners in a global pandemic.
And as we look deeply into what has transpired so far, we know that there is truly no turning back of the clock. Some of us have been directly affected by the disease itself. Others may have been indirectly affected. A few have lost their jobs and found themselves in financial difficulty. Marriages and family life may have felt the strain, as we shared living spaces without much opportunity to be “somewhere else”. Significant events passed us by in the most uncommon of fashion.
During the circuit breaker, I lost a cousin to cancer. As she suddenly passed on, I was neither able to offer my condolences and comfort to her immediate family nor grieve a loss in the usual ways. I’m sure there are many of us who crossed critical milestones in our lives, and we were not able to celebrate, remember and grieve in our familiar ways. Yes, life will never be the same again.
In these most extraordinary of times, we may have been forced by the circumstances to “prune” our lives, cutting off the non-essentials and going back to basics. We not only become careful with all the health precautions in place, but also careful in how we live.
I hope that we will remember to apply Godly wisdom in this season. As we recognize the nature of this fallen world and that the days are evil, we will be careful and wise with all of life. It is probably more obvious than ever before that we must use our time and opportunities wisely, with the redemptive power of God.
It is time to rethink what is truly important to us. Our walk with God. Our families. Our relationships. Our work, vocations and callings. Our ministry. And then to apply the wisdom of God to these important areas, asking what needs to be kept, removed or modified.
This applies to us as a church too. Time does not stand still. We continue to make use of every opportunity presented to us, to continue in the Gospel work. Ever since World War II, the Singapore Church has never had to suspend all her physical worship services. In fact, they remain suspended for now.
But evangelism does not stand still, just because we cannot meet each other face to face. It is no longer about just bringing someone to a church service but bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to someone. CGs, discipleship and fellowship must not stop, just because we cannot congregate together physically. If we give up meeting together just because of the limitations that we face, remember that the early church thrived in a time of great persecution and greater trouble than we are in today.
Our worship should be deeper, our prayer more earnest and our devotion to the Word greater than before. If we have been distracted and busy before, then what else is it going to take, with all this busyness now gone, before we will spend some time at His feet?
Covid-19 has also exposed the many fault lines that had already been present before the disease struck our shores. The needs of rough sleepers, migrant workers and many others who may have been forgotten by society. The critical need for every member to be part of a CareGroup or DiscipleshipGroup. Adaptability, flexibility and innovation when it comes to the way we do church ministry, rather than to be hung up over a certain way that we must “do church”.
This is the great reset that we have before us. To reset our lives, study, work, vocation, ministry, attitudes, mindsets, relationships and lifestyles into the way that it was always meant to be. God’s way.
Therefore,
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
May the Lord bless You with His wisdom and His Spirit’s power.
Blessings
Kay Huat