Letter to the Editor: Faith in a Pandemic

Business closed, people quarantined, travel restricted — by any measure, this has been a crazy time. So, I understand why people are freaked out, and the need to keep our members and congregations safe. But, as Christians, it’s important to remember that the Lord does not give us a spirit of fear. It saddened me how easily many of our churches agreed to suspend services this past year. I am not saddened because I doubt the severity of the pandemic but because of the danger of another pandemic, one the church has been facing since the beginning of time: sin.

I believe that not worshipping together has put many of my fellow Christian’s faith in danger. Without the nutrients of God’s Word to sustain them, without receiving Christ’s body and blood with fellow believers, many of our brothers and sisters have been weaned from attending worship and fallen away.

Please understand, I am not sowing the seeds of rebellion against the governing authorities. But, when those in power call on us to do things that damage the faith of others, are we not called to obey God, rather than men (Acts 5:29)? Should we not have more fear of the fires of damnation than the death of the body (Matt. 10:28)? Forgive me if this seems extreme, but I remember hearing of a German prince kneeling before his emperor and saying, “Before I allow anyone to take away my faith, I shall kneel and let him strike off my head.”

We should have stood firm from the beginning. We should never take our worship for granted, nor should we ever give up the practice of meeting together, which is, I believe, the advice of the writer to the Hebrews as well. The Word of God must be preached, especially now in this time of testing.

My thoughts and prayers are, as always with our church body and nation. But let us worship boldly, now and forever, trusting only in His grace. Amen.

Still Disturbed,

Joy
Thornfield, Mo.

Editor’s Note: The Lutheran Witness welcomes letters for both print and online publication. The online letters are more general in nature whereas print letters provide feedback on our print publication. If you would like to submit a letter, you may do so on our contact page. While these letters will receive a light edit prior to publication, they are not submitted to doctrinal review. Print letters are limited to 150 words.