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Challenge

I don’t know about you, but I feel challenged every day and as the days go by the challenge becomes greater.  It seems like a bad dream, and then I sleep more and when I wake up there are fewer reports of good news and even more negative reports than the day before.

As I write this, the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in the USA has topped one hundred thousand.  So, in just over four months this staggering number of deaths has occurred.  Guidelines for safety were released weeks after the first case was discovered and it took even longer to implement them. 

All health care authorities agreed that social distancing was necessary and is a basic preventative measure.  There were other measures such as face coverings additional hand washing and cleaning of surfaces.

Yet, more and more, I hear and read about individuals who feel it is “their God given right” to behave however they wish.  I’m really not sure what God those individuals might be referring to.  It certainly is not the God that I know, love, and follow.  The God who so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.  The God who teaches/commands us to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.

Almost every day we hear about violent acts being committed against individuals just because they belong to a particular ethnic group, religious tradition or because of the color of their skin.

The real challenge for me and for many others is to love these people who behave in such a negative way.  I truly struggle at times with this, but then I take a deep breath and remember that I love my family with all my heart, but there have been and will be times when each family member says or does something that that troubles or hurts me or another family member.  While I am upset with the behavior, I still love that family member with all my heart. 

So, I ask that we all continue to love our neighbors as God has taught us and continue to pray for healing for all people in this world during these challenging times.

Deacon Rich

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