There is nothing quite like a crisis to help us assess the deep desires of our hearts. COVID-19 has certainly led me to ask the question: in what do I trust most in life? If one good thing could come from this terrible pandemic, may it be that all Christians would ask this simple question. And may we honestly assess what our answers tell us about the things in which we trust.
I’ve witnessed varied responses to the spread of COVID-19. At first, many showed little concern. Some seemed to assume it’s ‘somewhere else’. How quickly things have changed in just 8 weeks. After watching the horror of a rising death toll around the world, in Australia we are experiencing small steps in the roll back of restrictions. But as restrictions are eased, what are we all looking forward to most? What are our innermost desires? In what do we trust? The writer to the Hebrews offers wisdom on this fundamental question.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
As Christians, we are to be people who hold on to the hope of eternal salvation as we persevere in this life. And of course we sustain this within Christian community. Our greatest sense of loss right now should be the disconnection from people with whom we share close relationships. Our extended family, Christian family, neighbours, friends who don’t know Jesus and who we pray for regularly. Hopefully we’ve missed more than just coffee, our favourite restaurants, shopping, and the chance to travel overseas.
It is the loss of Christian community that I’ve felt most. The inability to spend time in worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I’ve missed being encouraged by them, learning from them, and caring for each other. It has been harder to encourage each other and pray with one another, or simply to catch up. Yes, we have Zoom, but it isn’t quite the same.
This is a significant challenge for us. At the very centre of what makes Moore College special and increasingly distinctive across Australia, and even in the wider world, is the depth and quality of the Christian community. It is here that our students live and learn from God’s word how to support and love one another within community. In our most recent issue of Moore Matters, our Principal wrote:
Christian ministry is about people. It is essentially a ministry of the word of God, but a ministry of the word of God to people. That is one of the reasons why the personal and community element of theological education is not simply an optional extra.
We were made by our God with an in-built desire to dwell, learn and spend time with others. I praise our God that the minds he created have given us technology which we have used to great effect to enable community-centred learning at Moore. Please continue to support us as we train, equip and send men and women into the world as ministers, Bible teachers, evangelists, missionaries, and Christian leaders.
I thank our God for our many sacrificial donors and prayers. Would you please continue to support the ministry of Moore College so that we can keep equipping and sending men and women to a world in great need of Jesus? We are conscious that this might be a difficult time for some as investments have been impacted, jobs lost, or hours reduced. For those able, we would appreciate your support. Our key needs right now, include:
- Scholarship support for our undergraduate and postgraduate students
- General purpose giving that we can allocate to varied specific needs
- The replacement of John Chapman House by 2023 with a new accommodation building for students and faculty
Would you also pray for:
- Our brothers and sisters who have lost jobs due to COVID-19
- Christian organisations that have also been impacted by COVID-19
- God’s provision of a strong student intake in 2021
Please feel free to contact me if there’s anything I can pray for you, or if you have any questions. You can email me at trevor.cairney@moore.edu.au or phone my direct line at +61 (0)2 9577 9900 (please leave a message if I’m not available to pick up the phone).
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