Mind of the Missionary
May 2020
“In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,…” (I Peter 1.3b)
Easter was different due to COVID-19. Each of our pastors had to make quick adjustments to their special worship services since Easter is the largest attended worship service of the year. Thankfully, almost all of our Pickens Baptist Association churches were able to meet with their folks through online or drive-in services. However, it wasn’t the same. Claren saw this post by Lana Lollar, wife of Bro. Jordan Lollar of Ethelsville BC. I wanted to share it with you. May these words bring you comfort and strength during these trying days.
“ For many years now I would dare to say that, if we’re honest, Easter has been about us. Buying and showing off pretty dresses, matching outfits, shiny new shoes, taking pictures and posting them all over social media. Extravagant Easter baskets and goodies, Easter egg hunts. Now stay with me… don’t get me wrong, I have done all of this and the next Easter we get to be social, we will more than likely have coordinating outfits and get a nice family picture. The problem is not all of that. There’s nothing wrong with getting a new dress to wear to church for Easter, matching your kids so adorably and taking pictures and giving them Easter baskets filled with goodies. However it’s all about our motive. What’s our priority? Who’s really in the spotlight? What are we truly making it about? Since no one is shopping (except online) and our church buildings will be empty other than pastors and possibly their families doing online services, perhaps this is one of many ways God is reminding us that Easter is about Him and Him alone. EVERYTHING is about Him! About how Jesus paid the ultimate price by dying on a criminal’s cross to pay our sin debt. He was buried and stayed in that tomb for three days. Praise God He’s no longer there! On that third day he arose so you and I can have life eternal in Him! Maybe Easter 2020 is going to eliminate distractions we usually have so we can focus on our risen Savior! So we can worship Him as the body of Christ in His holy presence wherever we are! So we can celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and keep our minds on Him. So we can teach our kids from home about the love of Christ and what true worship looks like! Let’s change our perspective from dwelling on what Easter isn’t going to look like this year to what God is wanting to do and show us this year! All things work together for the good of those who love God(and are called according to His purpose)! Let’s open our hearts to Jesus and be changed like never before! “