Coronavirus and The Church

By: Mikey Pesqueda

The word pandemic has recently arose when talking about the Coronavirus. Before you read this blog I want to tell you what I will be discussing and won’t be discussing. This article will focus on how we as Christians are to act during this time, not how to deal with the virus specifically. When the world seems to be panicking, should the church respond in the same way? It’s easy to say no and think that this is something that the media is blowing out of proportion. It’s also easy to react the same way the world is and think that we should stock up our shelves with toilet paper and hand sanitizer before it’s too late. So what do we do as the church?

Show the love of Jesus
When you think about Jesus’ love and care for the sick and needy, we realize that Jesus didn’t shy away from the needs around him. He laid hands on the leper, gave food to the hungry, and healed the sick. It’s easy to board up the doors of our houses and say to our kids, “We aren’t leaving unless we need food.” But is this really what we should do as Christians? I’m not saying that we neglect the wisdom of washing hands and avoiding contact with a lot of people (if you are sick you need to stay home) but what I am saying is in a moment of need and fear the church needs to be the hands and feet of Christ. Why aren’t we offering help to the vulnerable? Don’t let the fear of this world control our ability to make a substantial case that we are the body of Christ. Don’t horde the things that could be helping others. We should display that in what we say in times of trouble and also in what we do.

Live wisely but not in fear
Before the coronavirus blew up the world, I’m not going to pretend that I did much research. This was a failure of leadership on my part, but also a neglect to realize the ways we could be helping others around us. If you are like me then you have been reading article after article about what the virus is and how we should respond. Schools are shutting down, sporting events are being canceled, and church services around the world are wondering what to do. I think we may have some difficult questions to ask about our own schedules but we must not live in fear. The world lives in fear because they realize that this virus is out of their hands, and that causes chaos, but the believer shall live in hope knowing that this world and this virus was never in our hands to begin with. We must make smart and wise decisions but at the same time don’t let the world cause you to think you were ever in control of the world around you. We teach our children at a young age the old song, “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. Don’t forget this fundamental truth during this pandemic.

Seek the Lord
How do we respond to this pandemic? Seek the Lord through prayer and in His Word. We intercede in prayer for the world around us and ask that God would bring healing and help. We seek God in His Word to remind ourselves that He is in control of all things, especially in difficult times. We ask that this virus would help others to see the Gospel in a new light and that many would come to know Him. Pray at your churches and pray in your homes that the scientists would find a cure and that we could be a help to the broken world around us. I believe most people are worrying because they have just been reminded that the world we live in is broken, but for the believer in Christ this is nothing more than a reminder of what we already know. Christ will come again and when he does all things will be made new.