The following is my contribution to the Oak Grove Baptist Church Newsletter for April 2020:
Times are different, surely, and for many, they feel scary and uncertain. The forced isolation we find ourselves in initially seems terrible, but it can allow us many things that modern normality doesn’t always. While I know many have felt the pains of not being free to see loved ones and go where they please, the slowing down of things has opened the eyes of many to things they haven’t been able to see. Idolatry in forms of sports, busy schedules, and just the practice of filling every waking moment with anything but God has been put to a grinding, widespread halt. What can replace these things? Well, it could be things that should never have been replaced with idols in the first place.
I have witnessed families connecting more often. The forced displacement of kids to their homes who would otherwise be at school (and this practice and that) has resulted in time spent with their parents & grandparents that they never would have had otherwise. Families separated by distance are spending their evenings in conversation (albeit virtually outside their walls). Along those same lines, most churches like mine haven’t skipped a beat in their obedience to put forth the Gospel, innovating their churches to deliver to many people who haven’t been hearing the Word otherwise.
Beyond these things, there are countless “good things” happening alongside the reported “bad”. I want all to know (at home or otherwise) that you are loved, and God is in control. Throughout all of this, God is working in families, communities, and across this nation.
colbybryant.com 