May 7, 2020
During a recent midday Devotional, I spoke about Elisha’s interaction with his servant, who at the time was distressed by the presence of the Syrian army that had completely surrounded them, and were under instructions to seek their demise. Elijah calmly shared his perspective with his servant saying, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” He then prayed that his servant would have his eyes opened so that he could see things from God’s perspective and not his own. After sharing that story, I encouraged us to be like Elisha and pray for God’s perspective to be revealed to us. Well guess what? When you pray, God, in His providence, can answer in several different ways. Below is what I consider to be one answer to prayer, a kingdom perspective in the area of missions. It’s an excerpt from John Piper’s latest book, Coronavirus and Christ (yes, books addressing this issue are already being written and published 😊). May God bless us as we reflect on this perspective:
Loosening Roots to Reach the Nations
In the coronavirus God is loosening the roots of settled Christians, all over the world, to make them free for something new and radical and to send them with the gospel of Christ to the unreached peoples of the world.
CONNECTING THE CORONAVIRUS with missions may seem like a strange idea, because in the short run, the coronavirus is shutting down travel and migration and missionary advance. But I am not thinking short term. God has used the suffering and upheaval of history to move his church to places it needs to go. I am suggesting that he will do that again as part of the long-term impact of the coronavirus.
Persecution as Missionary Strategy
Consider, for example, how God moved his people out of Jerusalem, on mission, into Judea and Samaria. Jesus had instructed his disciples to take the gospel to all the world, including “Jerusalem and . . . all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). But by the time of Acts 8, it seems the mission was stalled in Jerusalem.
What would it take to move the church into mission? It took the death of Stephen and a consequent persecution. As soon as Stephen was martyred (Acts 7:60), a persecution broke out:
There arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. . . . Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8:1–4)
That’s how God got his people moving—with martyrdom and persecution. At last, “Judea and Samaria” were hearing the gospel. God’s ways are not our ways. But his mission is sure. Jesus said so. And his word cannot fail. “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matt. 24:14). Not “may be proclaimed.” But “will be proclaimed.”
Setbacks as Strategic Advance
We may think the coronavirus outbreak is a setback for world missions. I doubt it. God’s ways often include apparent setbacks that result in great advances.
On January 9, 1985, Pastor Hristo Kulichev, a Congregational pastor in Bulgaria, was arrested and put in prison. His crime was that he preached in his church even though the state had appointed another man as pastor whom the congregation did not elect. His trial was a mockery of justice. And he was sentenced to eight months in prison. During his time in prison, he made Christ known in every way he could.
When he got out, he wrote, “Both prisoners and jailers asked many questions, and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church. God was better served by our presence in prison than if we had been free.”
This is often God’s way. The global scope and seriousness of the coronavirus is too great for God to waste. It will serve his invincible global purpose of world evangelization. Christ has not shed his blood in vain. And Revelation 5:9 says that by that blood he ransomed “people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” He will have the reward of his suffering. And even pandemics will serve to complete the Great Commission.