Bella Vista Church of Christ

LIFELINES

07/15/2020

Edwin Myers

Searcy AR

 

I’M NOT IMPORTANT, AM I?

(A Covid-19 Reflection)

 

  I started to name this post “Lessons From An Injured Thumbnail”, or “How Dumb Can I Be?” or some other catchy phrase, but you will either keep reading or you won’t. Let me explain:

 

  Last week returning from a trip I was unloading the car and when jerking to get my suitcase out of the SUV my left thumbnail was caught and it pulled back a little and split a little bit from the end toward the cuticle. Being the man I am I thought “I’ll just pull it off and that will be the end of it, that way it won’t catch on anything else.” So instead of going in and getting my wife to put some clear fingernail polish on it so it would bond back together (you women are with me, aren’t you) I began pulling it off. Suddenly I realized the nail had been pulled back further than I thought (where the nail attaches to the flesh) and when I felt the pain I also saw the blood. Uh-oh, ouch, and a few other thoughts entered my mind (“How stupid can I be?” was another).

 

  Well, Mary came to my rescue. She immediately got the peroxide, antiseptic cream and band-aides to take care of my wound. I didn’t think much about it until the next day. Have you ever stopped to think of how much you rely on your THUMB??? With the pain from my wound the day before I found that there were many common tasks that I found more difficult. I had to figure alternate ways to do things normally done with my left hand. Now I am five days into the healing and re-attachment of my fingernail to my thumb and I am able to return to normal use and activity.

 

  I have shared this story to make a point. (You knew that was coming.) During this Covid-19 pandemic we have been “pulled away” from the norm. Our meeting together as the church has been altered in ways we never dreamed could happen. Our “virtual” meeting together has been a way we could stay in touch, but it should NEVER REPLACE our coming together. Read 1 Corinthians chapters 11-14 and you will find the phrase “come together” several times. That is the meeting that we are exhorted to not forsake (Hebrews 10:24-25), and there is a reason. We encourage one another. And it’s done in a way that cannot be replaced “virtually.”

 

  Now that we are able to come together again there is something that concerns me. Many Christians have become satisfied with the virtual worship service and are choosing to remain at home. Most congregations are still offering live-streaming for those who are at high risk, and for those who cannot physically attend. I think that is a good thing. That’s NOT who I am talking about. I’m talking about those who because of the convenience of virtual worship are choosing to remain at home for whatever reason. (That is a topic for another time.)

 

  What I am concerned about are many feel it really doesn’t matter. Sure, like a thumb doesn’t matter to the function of a hand! A reading of 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 will help. It isn’t difficult to understand Paul’s point in his metaphor. I AM important … YOU are important … We all make up the body.

 

  Think about it – Christ didn’t die to purchase a “virtual” church.

 

—Edwin Myers

   Searcy AR