Two years ago this month, the pandemic became real to me. Without forewarning, the school district where I was teaching, closed its doors on Friday the 13th of March 2020! It took weeks to implement an on-line instructional plan and train us to teach virtually. Our nation then experienced a gradual shut-down of most places: stores and other businesses, restaurants, schools, offices, and even medical facilities and houses of worship. Government orders prohibited assembling. Hindsight is 20/20 and at the time, scientists, medical experts, and politicians had no idea how to handle a new and different virus.
The church, too, struggled to respond. In most cases, local and state mandates regulated, mostly banning, in-person gatherings. Later, a Presidential directive declared religious groups as “essential,” thereby allowing some church ministry. Church leaders quickly rallied calling for Christian courage and I heard more than one pastor reference the sacrificial and heroic courage of 3rd century Christians during a deadly pandemic in Rome. Eventually however, a trending pandemic mindset took over and churches followed suit. My own church cancelled in-person services prior to local mandates to do so and months later reopened with stricter protocols than were required. A year into the pandemic, I watched a nationally known minister state that his congregation would not gather in-person due to continuing local COVID cases. “We wouldn’t want anyone to die,” he explained. What a shocking remark as a Christian who lives not for this temporary life on earth, but for the reality of eternity in glory, like Paul wrote of in Philippians 1:23! Of course, Christians do not recklessly endanger their lives, but we have much to joyfully anticipate, not fear, in eternal life.
In 2020, the church strained under a myriad of pressures, but it is founded on Scripture, which commands us to gather together as Christ followers (Hebrews 10:25). In fact, the statement takes an unusual negative position: “Let us not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some.” According to Christian author and respected preacher Timothy Keller, this ‘gather’ term entails far more than attendance. It suggests deep connection in community, something built only through personal interaction.
If law and policy collide with Biblical principles, how do Christians respond? That is a huge question that a blog post can’t tackle but I will point you to Scripture. The Bible tells us that God ordains government for the good of society (Romans 13:1-2). It also tells us that God’s law supersedes man’s laws. Christians obey God, over man, when they conflict (Acts 5:29).
Yes, hindsight is 20/20. More is known now about the virus, its transmission, and treatments but a lot remains unknown. And all of it remains polarized. I wonder if hindsight is not as clear as we would hope, in this case. Will we ever know all the facts of the virus and motives of resultant policies? I think not. I end with these words that I think explain our lack of clarity: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know, just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Answers await us in eternity.
