Called to be a Blessing - Mike Chipman

 

It’s been a tough 18 months. The world has been wrecked by a pandemic that has taken the lives of 4.5 million people. Many others have been without work and have had significant changes to their daily lives and their “normal.” We’ve been asked to do things none of us have ever had to do. We’ve been asked to wear face masks in public. We’ve been asked to social distance. We’ve been asked to forego important things like graduations, weddings, and even funerals. The world has been turned on its head. To make matters worse, mistrust and division are at all-time highs. A divisive presidential election has divided the country and has even threatened to divide the Church. Two normal men were given messiah status, and we were told that if either one wins, we are all doomed.

When I look at the past 18 months, I can think of many ways I have repaid evil for evil. I can think of many times I’ve insulted those who have insulted me. I’ve become defensive when I heard of the difficulties churches in this country have faced due to COVID. Rather than seek reason and understanding, I’ve sought justice in the form of winning arguments and vilifying the people on the television. In the first few months of the pandemic, I was angry and just knew that this was all a major conspiracy. I listened to men I consider faithful teachers and theologians jump on the same wagon. I listened to them rant about Fauci and Biden and the CDC. The more I listened, the more I felt convicted. Then I remembered Peter’s words to the persecuted church in his first letter. There I found truth and a helpful balance.

When I read that passage, I’m much more into the “be prepared to give a defense” than I am “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” One of those is much easier for me. In the “defense” part, I become the smart guy with all the answers. I become the hero of the story that knows the foils of the other side and could easily solve this whole mess if they’d just listen to me. It might be easy to think that way were it not for what follows after the “defense.” Our defense is for “anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” My defense isn’t of my freedoms or even the church’s. My defense isn’t about wearing a mask in a restaurant or being vaccinated. It’s about Jesus. In the early days of the pandemic, I wish I had been half as faithful to tell others about Jesus as I was at telling others about the freedoms I was losing. To be sure, liberty is a good thing and I do believe we are losing freedoms I never thought losable. I also believe in our right to speak up and tell those in charge that something isn’t right. Yet, 4.5 million people have died, and many without knowing Jesus. How have I blessed rather than reviled? How have I honored rather than defended? Truth is, I have mostly been concerned about my own comfort and security.

This isn’t a passive-aggressive jab at someone. This is a call for reflection. I know the places my heart has gone since March 2020. I also know how I ought to treat others. Those two things haven't always meshed. As we stumble through the backside of 2021 together, let us consider how we can bless others. The world needs Jesus much more than it needs anything else.