My Sundays are not usually what I’d call a “day of rest.” Surprisingly, that first Sunday home was. We had filmed the sermon on Saturday, and I was exhausted from a week of upheaval. That Sunday my family and I woke at our leisure. We sang some hymns, listened to the sermon, and discussed the scriptures more in depth. Then we rested. We certainly needed the rest, but something was missing. It wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t terrible. Unfortunately, by the next week I would begin singing a different tune. The week was long and full of things that I am not particularly good at: writing, filming Bible studies, and being isolated. After filming the Sunday service on Saturday afternoon, I was ready for another day of rest. Sadly, it did not come. My coveted day of rest turned in a big reminder of how broken our world is. As my family gathered for worship, I was overwhelmed with longing for my faith family. Some of my children were not as attentive and worshipful as they were the week before, and Sunday School was filled with constant interruptions. All of this put me in a really bad mood. Then, to top it all off, I almost burned down the house while grilling supper (Don’t ask🙈). The day was anything but restful!
COVID-19 and days like that Sunday are a reminder of how broken our world is. A virus that has shaken the whole world = brokenness. Children’s bad behavior = brokenness. Interruptions to our attempts at spiritual nourishment = brokenness. My own sin = brokenness. I felt like David in Psalms 40:12, “For troubles without number have surrounded me.” Or Psalm 69:1, “For the water has risen to my neck. I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing.”
What I needed that day and every day was a reminder that this brokenness will not always remain. COVID-19 took from me a reminder of a wonderful truth that brings me great joy. You see, the corporate gathering of the faith family reminds me of my hope and my future in heaven. Listen to the Apostle John from Revelation 7:9-12, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
Every Sunday when I gather with my faith family, I am able to look past all the brokenness of this world and get a glimpse of what awaits me. I am able to “practice” for a moment what I will one day do forever. There we will with glad hearts gather around the throne of God and worship Him perfectly face to face. In that land there will be no viruses, no interruptions, and no sin. I long for this! Like Job, I need to be reminded, “And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” The Sunday gatherings for worship are weekly reminders that one day I will see my Savior with my own eyes! They are a reminder that one day I will sing to my Savior as He stands before me. Sundays are a taste of heaven, and COVID-19 has taken that from me for a little while. Yes, I hate COVID-19, but it has reminded me of how precious Sunday worship is, and maybe that’s the point.
By His Grace,
Pastor Brian