Believe it or not, one of the hardest parts of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic for the greater Church, and to some extent here in our own church family, has been the different conclusions we believers have drawn about Covid-19. As one of the elders in our church, and the lead teaching pastor, I've tried to walk a middle road. Not because I don't have my own opinions and thoughts, but because I don't believe any of us have a corner on what's absolutely true about this subject. Doesn't it amaze you the different conclusions people draw after looking at the same evidence? For some, they see the pandemic as a hoax and way over blown, while others see Covid-19 through a lens of great fear believing that if they get it they will almost certainly die. Some see the vaccines as a grace from God--a medical initiative that greatly preserves life, while others among us see them as dangerous and possibly even destroying life. I could go on in much greater detail how differently Christians see the same evidence, and we run the gamut.
I point all that out because I think it makes an impact on what it looks like to love one another in the middle of this. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says that love believes the best in others, and what I think Paul means by that is that we don't ascribe to one another wicked or pejorative motives. When Jesus told us not to judge each other, I'm very convinced that motives was one thing he was saying we don't have a right to judge.
If you are a person who looks at the evidence and concludes Covid is just like the flu and vaccines are morally wrong for you to take, don't look down on your brother or sister who disagrees with you. Don't judge them as fearful, morally weak and not trusting God. Respect them, accept them and love them as you would those who agree with you.
I'm writing this primarily for you, my church family. I want us to love one another and trust God to lead us and lead our brothers and sisters. If you value mask wearing and social distancing, if you believe vaccines help and all of these are important health measures, by all means please avail yourselves of whatever combination of these measures you think it necessary. If you believe those measures aren't necessary, or even detrimental, please feel free to follow God's leadership in your life. In
It's hard to trust God to deal with his other children, when we think we've heard so clearly from Him about this and that. Covid-19 has been a really big test for loving each other and believing for the best in others. As hard as I've tried to walk out what I'm asking you to do, I've not been able to do it successfully. We had one family leave because they believed I was promoting the vaccine. We had another family reject us because we didn't promote the vaccine. My appeal to you is to accept and love one another in spite our different Covid conclusions.
I write this because it seems like Covid isn't over, but continuing to crank back up. May God give us grace to be gracious to each other in spite our differences.
