Insights Into The Covid-19 Church Era – Part IX
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on his let. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared or you from the foundation o the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink” When did we see You a stranger, and invited You in, or naked, and clothed You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extend that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.’
“He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me….. To the extend that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” (Matthew 25: 31-46)
The church needs to be shaken out of its Pre-Covid-19 mentality by extending empathy, encouragement, compassion, being none judgmental, and striving for justice for all. How is that to be done? According to Matthew 25, by feeding the hungry when unemployment is so high, by provided fresh, clean, natural water to the thirsty, by embracing diversity, no longer treating them as strangers, but accepting them as family as equal peers, by clothing the homeless, and revisiting prisons and nurturing and mentoring them upon their release.
The church must cease being one of the most segregated institutions in America on Sundays. Jesus offered living water to a Samaritan woman. The Covid-19 church must also offer living water to anyone who is thirsty no matter of race or social status. We must accept the Samaritans, those different from us, of our day! “Truly I say to you, to the extend that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.”
“Passivity” should no longer be a part of the church’s vocabulary. The book of Acts is all about “activity,” “action” led by the Holy Spirit. The 21st century church needs to share meals, hang out with one another, take care of the sick, orphans, and widows on a daily basis. Eradicating poverty, hunger, while providing affordable housing, clothing those in need, and include strangers in our fellowships should be top priorities.
We will be judged as sheep or as goats by our very “actions”. The church needs wineskins and tabernacles that are flexible. That’s why God chose His people to indwell as disciples to be flexible and willing to serve.
New wineskins and new structures are useless unless new wine, the Presence of God’s Holy Spirit, is put within them. This new wine placed in new wineskins will produce new ways to do church and be the Church, the Bride of Christ. Will the Church embrace the medieval wineskins it has followed for centuries and remain a medieval minded church, or will it be willing to embrace new wine in new wineskins that will produce a totally different looking church. In the future, will the Covid-19 Era church be judged as sheep or as goats?