Earlier this year, when people started to realize the gravity of the pandemic and distancing was encouraged, I knew it would affect all people greatly, believers and unbelievers alike. As somebody who likes to predict possible outcomes, I thought to myself that believers will either (1) use this time to prostrate themselves at God's feet, therefore becoming more dependent upon Him, or (2) merely adapt to whatever is happening to the world, ("a new normal" as we used to call it) and not be changed.

Months came, and then we saw racism rear its ugly head. Believers became divided on the issues of justice versus the gospel. And recently, the elections further created factions within the church. The responses to the pandemic I saw coming, and looking at our current situation, sadly I still see Christians instead of going to God, were substituting Him with something else to fill the void they are experiencing. I didn't expect the church’s reaction to racism and politics at all though; the church became divided so rapidly that some Christians saw their brothers or sisters as their enemy. The situation is puzzling, sad, and discouraging.

I reflected on these two problems and, as I always do when analyzing things I do not understand, I started with God. I believe the issues stem from two foundational things: (1) a limited view of Christ and (2) a limited view of our identity (which flows from the first).

A Limited View of Christ

"But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." Matt. 15:18-19

Great pressure or forces exerted upon an edifice can lead to structural damages. And just like our spiritual lives, unfavorable circumstances can create harm to ourselves and relational cracks with God and others. Foundational truths then, if incorrect, unchecked, or established wrongly can lead to spiritual degradation.

We all know that no person can come to Christ unless the Father leads him. And being renewed internally, this reality becomes evident in the placing of faith in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. But this should not stop in justification.

"Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matt. 16:24
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20

Consider three truths from these passages:

1. We Are United to Christ. By virtue of our union with Christ, our lives are melded with His. The Holy Spirit, as we submit to Him, permeates our lives, transforming and maturing us in our Christian walk. Jesus is our Redeemer still in the everyday. He still is our Lord and we should follow Him. If you considered Jesus to solve our justification issue that one time, and not surrendered to Him Your whole life, then we have a truncated version of the gospel.

2. Jesus is Our Lord. Lordship is choosing Jesus as the Source, Conduit and End-point for everything. What do I mean by this? Sometimes we need to see the negative to have a better view on it’s opposite. Sin, in essence is choosing something or someone over God. If I do an action “x” that is clearly a disobedience to Him or because we believe it is the ultimate end in itself, then we are sinning and not following Him. If, on the other hand, my whole life (and therefore my actions as well) are dictated by Him, dependent upon Him and is only for Him, then we are in essence fulfilling His Lordship over ourselves. Lordship fueled by His grace is also a costly sacrifice on our part, because it entails denying ourselves always and following Him alone.

3. Christ is Our All-Sufficient Savior. If Christ is our Lord, it is no longer we who dictate how we live, then He also becomes our all and He is sufficient for us in all circumstances. We either look to Him as Lord and God of our lives, or He is not at all. It is one or the other.

It is so easy for all of us to forget this truth if we do not continually preach the gospel to ourselves. We substitute Christ from His rightful place daily and tend to go to Him only on Sundays. And speaking from our current situation with the pandemic, now that we are learning to adapt to it, it’s tempting to replace Him with idols of TV shows, books, social media, ideologies, or whatever we think we can derive our happiness from. Quoting C.S. Lewis loosely, he said that pain is God's megaphone. But we can also dull our pain as we get accustomed to it. This world will not tire of manufacturing idols, and our hearts will be fooled to consume them as “gods'' if we are not careful. I hope that we pursue Christ in joy or in sadness. And He becomes all that we ever need.

A Limited View of Our Identity

As I've previously mentioned, the second problem stems directly from the first and also is based on our fundamental understanding of Who we are as the Church. We are connected more than we can ever realize.

Salvation

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

We live in a society with an individualistic worldview. Our lens of salvation has been affected and thus we are inclined to see the Church in a limited sense. We mainly see salvation through this statement: By grace through faith in Christ, each person is justified and is added to the body of believers (and therefore compose the Church).

I agree with that, but we might also be forgetting the corporate sense of salvation. Looking at John 10, it’s clear that Christ redeemed the Church collective. A supplementary statement can therefore be added when we view salvation. By grace through faith in Christ, the Church is bought by Christ's blood as an entity in itself. Those who become part of it are drawn by God. See also Eph. 4 and 5.

I grew up as a Catholic. I do not agree with most of their theology, but Catholicism provides a helpful contrast. They have an elevated view of their "church" to the point that it becomes an institution only through which salvation is given by God, and they drop everything that pertains to individuals coming to God directly. This is not what I'm saying.

What I'm arguing is that, to have a clearer view of our identity, we should look at redemption both through the individual and corporate lenses. And if we hold the two realities together, we will have a more robust perspective and love each other better.

Lordship

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35
"...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." John 17:21

In John 13:31-35 and 15:12-14, Jesus is addressing his disciples; and in John 17:20-26 he is speaking to the Father. Looking at the passages above, we see the following elements, cascading from the first:

Jesus's Lordship. He gives a command. No one can give us a commandment (in its ultimate sense) except by the One who owns us and by the One we follow. Let us ask ourselves, “Whom do we follow, is it Christ or a substitute?”
Love for one Another. What kind of love? It derives its characteristics from the Trinitarian love. Deep, sacrificial, like-mindedness, and giving. Christ's deep desire is for us to love each other. Before going to the cross, he prays that we are united in the same love He shares with the Father. I hope we see the intensity of Jesus's prayer here for unity. Think about this, do we prioritize our secondary affiliations more than we love our fellow brothers/sisters in Christ.
Witness. This love we have for each other affects our witness to the unbelieving world. Diagnostic questions most of the time make us very uncomfortable, but check this: We preach the gospel to the world, but speak trash to other Christians who do not have the same views (mask vs. no mask, republican vs. democrat, church gathering vs. no gathering, etc.) as we do? Isn't that hypocrisy? Don't we see the damage that this causes our testimony?

As Jesus poured His love lavishly upon us (individually and corporately) and as He is our Lord, we should then love each other. He died for you, for me, and everyone in the Church. We are united by His love, bought by His precious blood.

How does this look then in our current situation? This might sound obvious, but most of the time, we need "a reiteration of the obvious" as we are still in an unglorified state. What the church needs right now is a recalibration of the hearts to:

View Christ as Who He is

Pray for grace to realize and admit that we have needs. Let us cast all our troubles upon our God. He loves and cares for us. He is the Ultimate Solution to all our burdens and He is sufficient in everything. Let us also read scripture, immerse ourselves in it, and see Christ as its center and fulfillment.

View our identity as the Church the way God made and called us to be

Pray for one another. Let us love each other knowing that Christ has died for each and all of His own. There are many who need encouragement and comfort. Like how Sam (in Tolkien’s Return of the King) addressed the needs of an exhausted Frodo, saying, “Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.”, let us be a brother/sister (in the active sense of it) in the family of God.

Remind each other of the precious truths of the gospel and how it applies to life’s circumstances.

The gospel is not a disembodied idea, but it addresses our deepest needs. Let us also forgive those who wronged us, ask for forgiveness from those whom we wronged, try to understand those who hold a different view as we do, and be patient with all.

And last but not the least, in the light of the two things we looked at: may we as the Church proclaim the gospel to unbelievers with renewed fervor and compassion. Man-made solutions are good in themselves, but let the gospel be front and center of our work in this fallen world. May everything start, continue, and end with glorifying our God. Peace be with you brothers and sisters.