By Adegor Ezekiel

As we continue to plead with our divine creator to have mercy on humanity and heal our land, we Christians, must never forget what we are standing on; which is the absolute and unwavering faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we put our entire trust in to see us through this pandemic with great joy and celebration.

This faith does not answer to science or government regulations. The fact that houses of worship are restricted has opened up many unregulated houses of worship in peoples homes, where they excercise their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to fullness of joy and perfection, without the need of face masks, social distancing and restriction on friendly greeting/hugging your fellow worshipper.

In our various homes today, many practice with joy and to perfection the faith the Jesus Christ expects his true followers to worship him in his presence. It is, therefore, disturbing that some Christian leaders are busy negotiating how to partially reopen places of worship under strict regulatory guidelines set by the government.

The idea that our services might now be broken into multiple fragmented sessions with worshippers possibly required to wear face masks and/or gloves to attend services and friendly greetings between your fellow brethren in Christ in the house of the Lord might be classified as a formal offence by the government DO NOT only negate the Faith upon which the church is established, it is also exporting into the congregation of believers, the fear and anxiety associated with people whom do not have a God that is omnipotent and capable of protecting his children.

This generation of Christian leaders must preserve the sanctity of the house of God as a place of refuge and safety for all those who are able and willing to run into it.

People looking to be saved by Christ Jesus, when they come into the house of God and still see fear and anxiety through people wearing face masks worshipping their God whom we claim has all powers in heaven and on earth to prevent and heal his children from any pandemic/plague, will go home with a mindset that the lives of those in the Lords presence are not different from theirs and the message of salvation might never convince such souls.

Where is the line of distinction between believers and unbelievers if we succumb to the fear of coronavirus right in the presence of our Lord and Saviour?

If we allow this fear to extend into the house of God, it means we have handed over the body of Christ entrusted in our care to be under the control of the principalities of fear, distrust and anxiety, which are proxies to the kingdom of satan.

As church leaders, let us appeal to our governments that our Lord Jesus Christ is more than able to take full responsibility of our congregations public health and safety by reopening without restriction to the expression of the faith and joy people are used to showing in the presence of their Lord Almighty. Jesus is still actively in the business of healing and saving all those who are able to sincerely run into him through the Holy spirit and the house of the Lord remains the melting point for this spiritual and Faith led transactional process. Our objective should be to worship God together as one family in righteousness, peace and joy.

If the government insists a full reopening is not possible, then let all congregational leaders continue to encourage their members to worship God almighty with full expression of their joy and faith in Christ Jesus without any fear or anxiety from the comfort of their homes. We must at all time believe in our hearts that the holy spirit unites all of us in one accord irrespective of our physical location while we continue to pray for the government to have a total resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in each area so that we all can be assured to resume worshipping God almighty in an atmosphere devoid of fear, distrust and anxiety that COVID-19 has foisted on societies and communities around the globe.

The atmosphere within the church of Jesus Christ must be defended with our Faith and collective Sacrifice.

Let the Church not be in a haste to accept an arrangement that will promote fear, distrust and anxiety among worshippers in exchange for a spiritless reopening. Either way, God is not glorified and the kingdom of heaven is not benefiting.

The grace of Jesus Christ is still very much in abundance within the body of Christ and it is time for us Christians to excercise that Faith so as to unlock his divine manifestations.

Evangelist Adegor Ezekiel from CCC Zion Parish Itedo Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

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Time for Christians to Prove the Faith We Are Made up of - THISDAY Newspapers