I am so glad our 1st century sisters and brothers in Christ didn’t say to themselves, “Let’s wait until the persecution dies down before we get to doing what Jesus left us here to do.” If they did, the life and message of Christ would have died with them! But they understood that Jesus called them to do something despite the absolute mess that was Israel and the world they lived in. Israel’s roads were lined with the hanging bodies of crucified people. In Roman cities, unwanted babies were thrown on heaps in public places to die of exposure. Slavery, adultery, pedophilia, homosexuality, orgies and more were normative. A culture of brutality ruled their homes, their streets and their entertainment. There was corruption in the government, corruption in the military, corruption in the Temple courts and frequent insurrections. The religion of the Jews was present in all of the cities of the Jews, but people weren’t being transformed by their religion. Demonic possessions were everywhere. There was leprosy, disease, famines, droughts, and who knows – maybe there was even a locust infestation, some killer bees and a pandemic we don’t know about.
However, those first followers stayed focused on the message of Christ and the Father’s business, which was discipleship. They understood the purpose of Christ’s life and the purpose of theirs in Christ. They knew their job was to share the Good News of the Kingdom and its Christ, teach the Kingdom and live its culture in a dark, ugly and uncertain world. They knew Jesus left them here to continue what He started, and they did that even when they were on lockdown in prisons, had to meet in catacombs or were thrown into arenas to be killed. Nothing stopped them. They didn’t say “Well, we’ll get to it when conditions are more favorable.”
So, ladies – you need to STOP WAITING for things to “get back to normal.” You need to STOP WAITING for this corona virus to end. You NEED TO START asking God what He wants your ministry to others to look like RIGHT NOW despite a pandemic. You have work to do. You have a God to represent. You are an ambassador of a Kingdom. Figure it out and go do your job.