Spread Love…Wherever and However You Can
This post is in response to our “Top 10 Ways Deacons Can Help During COVID-19”, posted April 20, 2020.
“Coronavirus Searches Lead Millions to Hear about Jesus” (Christianitytoday.com). The tagline alone immediately peaked my interest! My inner-evangelist leapt for joy at the prospect of millions securing a place in the loving kingdom.
Our family has had the incredible blessing to be a part of a church that has eagerly welcomed gospel evangelism, and spreading God’s love in our community! To hear that millions of lost people, during this tumultuous time, are turning to Jesus was so encouraging!
At the same time, it was very intimidating! The pressure we can feel as Christ-followers can be immense and palpable; especially during times of world chaos; the pressure to be a collective of believing people that are both hopeful and confident, in a time when hope and confidence seems to wane at the sides and when many feelings are bathed in fear. The reality is that during this time, while we can’t gather together physically, our churches can continue to choose faith instead of fear!
We are called to lead by example and encourage our churches to show and share Christ’s love to all as a primary source for battling the fear of our world.
But how do we feasibly do this in a time of physical distancing (or as I like to call it: social seclusion)? Through one simple action: LOVE.
We are encouraged as a collective of Christ-followers, not to have unrealistic courage or romantic notions of hope, but rather to LOVE. To see the world’s chaos as an opportunity, not an obstacle. To share with our communities that the hope of life after death through Jesus Christ, is neither romantic, nor unrealistic; it is real and it is the utmost symbol of the sacrificial LOVE that has been offered for everyone!
As a response to this, my church bravely launched a one-page website (ineedhope.ca) with one grand purpose: to help people respond to the calling of Jesus. As a family, we felt the true weight of LOVE in this response from our Pastoral leaders! For me and my family, the first way we know we can show love, is by speaking truth like the website: JESUS SAVES AND HE’S ALIVE!
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for one another … little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and truth!” ~1 John 3:16-18~
The love of our risen Saviour is the beginning and most fundamental factor of our belief and doctrine. It is a description of the love of Christ for the world, the love of believers for Christ and the love of believers for others! Loving Christ is a mirror of His love for us.
During the COVID-19 turn-up, our family has taken on the mission of intentionally sharing this message with our neighbors. We started by posting our family’s Easter message of truth up in our front windows for all of our neighbours to see, and we are praying the Lord will shower our community with His love!
We, as believers, are in this together. To show that there is (real) hope in the fear, to facilitate in bringing the lost to Christ, to be the hands and feet of the kingdom work that brings death to life! Through his workers (us!), many will come to know Him! We are spreading hope .. instead of fear … through LOVE!
Even though we may individually be challenged by the COVID-19 sufferings (both personally and professionally), we are still called by the Holy Spirit to love our neighbours. So, in our family, we say “let your inner evangelist fly!” Say it loud, and say it proud – as Christ-followers, this voice is needed now more than ever!
“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us … and by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” ~1 John 3:23-24~
Let us take every chance we have to show those around us (in our communities), how much JESUS LOVES THEM.
Salvation is found in the only true love giver – Jesus Christ. When there was a choice of death between his Holy Son and His fallible people, God chose his own son, Jesus. Jesus’ love is the reason we are here. He is the one that, moved by love, became a man, lived a sinless life and selflessly and sacrificially shed his blood in our place to redeem us through faith in Him. He is not just the God who can heal viruses; he is the God that can take away all sin and offer eternal life.
Let us take every chance we have to show those around us (in our communities), how much JESUS LOVES THEM.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son; that whoever believe in Him will have eternal life” ~ John 3:16 ~
We do not need to be afraid of death, or virus, or failure. We should, however, be afraid of not succeeding at the one calling that matters: SHARING THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST.
For more information on showing Christ’s love during this time, read our blog post: “Top 10 Ways Deacons Can Help During COVID-19”. All of the resources mentioned in the article can be found on our Covid-19 Resource page. There you will find a list of great tangible ideas for sharing and showing God’s love.
