On April 29, 2020, Governor Beshear laid out his plan to start reopening our state and getting everything back to normal.

As part of that plan, the governor recommended that churches would be safe to open on May 20th.  This created a light at the end of the tunnel for many who were ready to return to in-person worship services.  If this does mean that our time of social distancing is (slowly) coming to a close, then now is a good time to reflect on what we should have learned from all this time away.

Solomon says these words in the book of Proverbs, “The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (18:15)  

So what knowledge should we find during these unusual times?

1. The Church is more than a Building.  

If there is one thing that we should have learned from our time away it should be that the church is so much more than a building we visit.

Our church has been empty for the past 8 weeks and yet our church has done more to reach our community with the gospel than ever before.  We have adapted and adjusted the way we get the message out.  In doing so, more people than ever are turning on and tuning into our services to hear the message of Jesus Christ.  On top of this, our members have a powerful tool at their fingertips.  Many are sharing, sending, and inviting their friends to listen in as well.

On top of that, we are hitting the internet and the phone lines to call & care for each other more than ever before.  Just because we cannot be with each other, does not mean that we cannot communicate, pray, and encourage one another during these hard times.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

While we may not be able to assemble right now, we can still encourage, and motivate one another to pursue Christ and do what is right!

While it has been a tremendous blessing to see the church serve during this pandemic, I think we can all agree that we miss our time together!

This time away has shown us that our church family consists of more than just our friends.  We don’t just miss the people in our little circles.  We miss the whole body!  We miss the people who greet us.  We miss the people who check in on us.  We miss the people that challenge us to be better.  It is a true statement that we only appreciate things once they are gone.  We have all discovered that some of the people we miss are not necessarily the people we were expecting to miss.  It should serve as a reminder that the church is made up of many different people and ALL of them are important to the Kingdom & to us!

Paul writes, “so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”  (Romans 12:5)  Once we are able to gather together again, let us remember that every member is important and treat them with the love and care that they deserve!

Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (6:21) In this passage, Jesus is instructing the crowd to store up treasures that are in heaven instead of on earth.  

Many of us have discovered that we have a lot more free time these days.  Even the few of us that still go to work every day realize that our evenings have been cleared because of this virus.  Our kids do not have all their functions.  The church does not have services nor meetings.  Our hobbies & clubs are put on hold.  Even our trips have been cancelled because of this virus!  So what are you doing with all this free time?

Be mindful of your answer.  How you have chosen to fill your free time says a great deal about where your treasure is.  This pandemic has caused all of us to get to know ourselves a little better.  One way in which we can know ourselves better is by noticing what we do when we don’t have anything to do.

Now, there is nothing wrong with starting a new hobby, learning a new skill, or even just catching up on some much needed rest.  However, we do need to ask ourselves, “Am I drawing closer to God during this time or further away?”  Are you using your time wisely and investing in eternity or are you just investing in yourself and the things of this world?

Either way, a load of free-time makes our priorities pretty obvious, and that’s a good thing!  The clarity that it brings can bring us to our knees in repentance and lift up our hands in thanksgiving.  It can help put us back on the right track so our hearts will be with Christ, our true treasure!!!