A COVID VERSION OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13
In hindsight, it is easy to recognise how COVID-19 opened a barn door for love to shine in, but sadly we started cursing the darkness (and one another) instead of simply lighting a candle. So, in an attempt to put the nearly forgotten pandemic into the context of 1 Corinthians 13, I wrote a 1 COVID 13 adaption of the chapter on love.
(Please note, I include myself in the content of this letter)
A COVID VERSION OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13
(1) If I speak with authority on COVID-19 issues, and I proclaim my heavenly superiority with revelations from above, but it leads to a loveless discourse, I am adding noise to the news and provide nothing but an empty, hollow, irritating noise like a dripping tap in an ocean of opinions.
(2) If I presume and proclaim to have insight into the heavenlies, to fathom all mysteries of an unseen virus unknown to man, and to have a greater grasp of the pandemic than bio-chemists, virologists and specialists all put together, but I lack the ability to communicate this in love – I am like a small insignificant star in a galaxy of planets – a nothing. Yes, even if I have enough faith to proclaim God’s protection over me but do not care about the wellbeing of those around me, I become like a hammer in a porcelain shop – destructive, dangerous and unusable.
(3) If I have this outward display of care and proclaim how I am willing to suffer for my convictions and boast in my persecution as proof of my faith, but do not have love, I will become a victim of my own obsession and sadly mean nothing to no-one, not even myself.
(4) Love listens patiently to others and responds thoughtfully with goodness – especially when there is a contradiction of convictions. Knowledge does not justify rudeness and does not seek to downgrade or downplay those who think differently. Love is a humble commodity, never boasting about its own wisdom, achievements, or insights.
(5) It does not put others to shame on Facebook or sows suspicion on social media. It always puts others first and joyfully does what is inconvenient, like wearing a mask as a testimony of a willingness to deny ourselves. Love does not steamroller others into our convictions and has no self-interest or self-seeking truths. Love is quiet, it is not easily annoyed by the opinions of others and it places no bookmarks in discussions to later belittle someone for previous remarks made.
(6) Love in nature always pursues, rejoices, and amplifies beauty and never researches, obsesses, and delights in the perceived evil of man.
(7) Love embraces the protection that wisdom offers and trusts the wisdom that God has graciously bestowed on doctors, medics, and health experts. The DNA of love is hope, not fear, trust, not suspicion, and, no matter what, it will not compromise the ability to give life and not death.
(8) Love alone will conquer the uncertainties of COVID-19. The Christianese of prophecies and predictions will not impress a dying world, neither will the spiritual voices that are foreign to people who seek tangible faith in a hopeless season. Yes, all the new variants of the virus will continue to make the wise look foolish and only love will prove to be a solution worth pursuing.
(9) Only an eternal God, with an eternal plan, will one day reveal the depth and the height of His eternal love in a season of despair. Our prophecies and wise words cannot add to this, only our love will.
(10) And this forward faith – waiting patiently for His completeness to come during days, weeks, months, and years of lockdown, makes us realise that our current inconveniences are temporary and His love is eternal.
(11) This eternal hope helps us to embrace the virus as mature believers, not gibbering and chattering like immature infants in faith, or expressing our untransformed thoughts with un-Christlike reasoning to anyone who would listen. This season of fear demands calculated and intentional maturity in attitude, and purity in conscience. Our approach should be the same as Christ on the cross – redemption, regardless of our own security.
(12) Only when we offer eternity as a cure shall we see face to face if the God that we portrayed was the real God or a false God. That day will come sooner than many realise. May God have mercy on us when we enter eternity one day and we tell the Lord of our glorious achievements. May we be spared from the deep disgrace of hearing the words of Matthew 7:23: I tell you plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
(13) Think about this: Heaven will be a faithless and hopeless place. Neither will be needed as we will experience the fulfilment of faith and hope when we dwell with God. Love, however will remain. And that’s why it is the greatest of all, especially at a time when all seems to be falling apart.
Say what you have to say, but say it in love.
INSPIRATION
During 2020 the infrastructure in Lebanon was at an all-time low due to the prolonged Syrian war resulting in more than 1,5 million people seeking refuge in Lebanon. The economic and political turmoil left more than 50 percent of the population below the poverty line.
The August 4 Beirut blast devastated the Lebanese people with more than 300,000 being left homeless in a matter of seconds. What few news sources reported on was the fact that the explosion necessitated people to mix and hampered all efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus.
Though cases had been steadily rising before the blast, protective measures largely went out of the window as people worked to remove family, friends, and strangers from the rubble of their city, and medical professionals provided them with care in overwhelmed hospitals. Few people were spared. In the aftermath of the blast, daily cases shot up to the mid-to-high hundreds, then up to more than 1,000 later in August.
In October 2020, Lebanon recorded its highest daily deaths to date.
For many in Lebanon, this was a crisis beyond compare. For the Church in Lebanon, this was an opportunity of a life-time. It was a re-commission to love their enemies and bless those who persecute them.
One of our partner churches in Beirut decided to purchase lightweight, versatile, and easy-to-use, oxygen ventilators to provide non-invasive ventilator support for people in their homes – as well as the many disadvantaged refugees. It provided unique opportunities to impact people with the love of Christ in their time of need, not only providing spiritual comfort but also proving the basic source of life, oxygen. It opened previously closed doors to the Gospel of Christ to penetrate hearts and enter homes in an equally non-invasive way.
When COVID-19 started shaking the salt container, only what was inside came out, a gloriously recommissioned Church.
From the book: A life of CONSECRATION