Four months ago today there was one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Suffolk. The inevitable reality of lock-down was looming. Big changes were in store. No more face-to-face gatherings, holiday, school and work plans would be disrupted.
Of all people, believers should always be looking to find a redemptive angle on circumstances that are filled with gloom. Pessimism calls to us to despair, stoicism calls to us to adopt the stiff upper lip. A character like Job models the biblical middle ground. Things were not good for Job, there was no use pretending otherwise. Yet as Paul reminded us this morning, there was still room for hope. Hope that was founded – not in Job’s godly character, even though he was that. But hope that was anchored in God and His redemptive plan. “I know that my redeemer lives” said Job – this is the response that we are called to have. Job’s response was neither pessimistic, stoical, or super-spiritual – it was just faithful.
With that same faithful outlook, we can look at the circumstances of 2020 and trace truths that have and will continue to define this year. I’d like to share three verses that have particularly stood out to me these last fourth months – in a series over the next few weeks.
Love your neighbour as yourself
The first, would be that timeless truth of ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (Lev. 19:18). It is so entirely fundamental to a well functioning society that at every turn in this crisis we have been faced with its demands on our conscience. Whether it was the call to wash hands, stay at home, or now to observe safe distances, we have had to wrestle with the loss of autonomy in place of loving our neighbour.
At the same time, the odd thing about this crisis is that we have had opportunities like never-before to love our neighbours, never mind lock-down. We might not have been preaching the gospel but we certainly have had opportunities to live the gospel. Collecting supplies, offering support, listening and learning about our neighbours lives have all presented themselves. This is the happy side of the disruption, bridges have been built that might never have. As restrictions lift, we will want to remain focussed on we can keep those bridges open. Whatever the next 6 months hold, this remains a redemptive distraction away from the fear of further pandemic developments.
Mainstay of the Old Testament
It is interesting to see where this verse turns up in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus states it as being one of the main-stays on which the whole of Old Testament hung (Matt 22.39-40). Take it away, along with the command to love God, and the whole thing falls apart. And fall apart it did. It is a sobering thing to see that when God’s people love themselves rather than God and one’s neighbour, that they ultimately fail.
Mark of True Faith
James refers to it in James 2, calling it the ‘royal’ law. He condemns believers who treat the rich favourably. A doer of the word should never be marked by prejudice. How poignant this is for us, if we apply James’ standard to recent events. The racial tensions that have arisen during the start of the pandemic and the protests that came in response demonstrate the two extremes of a society that is absorbed in self-love. James won’t have any of it. It is totally at odds with the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory.
Motive for Civil Obedience
Paul refers to it in Romans 13. He uses it to build his case for civil behaviour. He knows that asking people to submit to authority is a tough ask if one relies on fear alone (.3). Far better to show these believers that the real motive for civil obedience is love. So he writes, ‘love works no ill to his neighbour’ and will go on to show them that Christ is the one who they wear when they live like that. What a wonderful thing this is. May God help us to think creatively about how we continue to display Christ to our neighbours in the weeks ahead.
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