With 2020’s curtain drawing to a close, we are thankful to our God who remains faithful, loving and ever merciful to us. The year 2020 will always be remembered as the pandemic Covid-19 year. It has impacted many in ways that we have never expected. Many sole bread winners have even lost their jobs. The nation went into a period of “circuit breaker”. We are kept away from attending church physically for a few months. Meetings were moved into virtual space and our social norms have to be altered substantially.
With or without a vaccine cure, we will likely be plagued by future new calamities or diseases. Thus, whilst the year 2020 will not be easily forgotten, we are more certain than ever of our faith and the promises found in the scriptures.
Like Paul who said in his last days, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” – 2 Timothy 4:7. We likewise want to be able to say the same.
Paul often used the metaphor of battle and struggle to depict the Christian life. This fight is against the three enemies of the soul – the flesh, the devil and the world. At the heart of this battle is an unseen spiritual warfare. During this period of covid-19 environment, keeping away from church for too long may pose a danger for us. If not careful, we may get a little lethargic with the affairs of Christian ministry unknowingly. Paul was convinced that the real spiritual battle is fought not with the powerful weapons of the world, but with the self-giving love of God, not by taking up the sword but by taking up the cross.
The second is a metaphor of a disciplined athlete who runs to win according to the rules that Paul shared with the Ephesian elders. Paul indicated to them that his top priority in life was to “finish the race and complete the task” that the Lord Jesus had given him. May the Lord help us to discard anything that may hinder our race and enable us to run consistently-without giving up hope, even in the most difficult circumstances (Hebrews 12:1). Covid-19 may have kept many of us away from desired fellowship amongst the believers, but let us not be discouraged. Let’s capitalise on the changing social norms and technology to our advantage and make good use of the additional time to spend it well with the family. Hence new learned communication technology like ZOOM, TEAMS are tools that can help us to better use the time that God has placed in our hands.
And lastly, the third metaphor is that of a diligent farmer sowing the gospel seed which sees a good harvest in the days ahead. May we be like Paul, fervently and faithfully holding on to the gospel faith that is connected with the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, we reiterate our thanks to our Almighty God for keeping us and watching over us in the year 2020. It is our prayer that despite all the challenges that we are facing or will face, we want to be like Paul – fight the good fight, finish the race and remain faithful to the end.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY, FOR THE GREAT THINGS THAT HE HAS DONE!
Andrew Lim
