Reflections For Good Friday 2020: Elaine Sung

Calvary (Golgotha) was, according to the Gospels, a site immediately outside the walls of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.

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Reflections for Good Friday 2020

Strange as it may be, I am writing this “reflection of Good Friday” weeks ahead of schedule.  (Andy, you would be so proud of me! :p) Another cancelled event due to the COVID-19 situation has freed up my schedule.  I reckon this may be an opportune time to pen some thoughts down.

Much has been said and written of the virus. Amidst the constant flow of information and misinformation, endless questions surface. How does a lay person discern the truth?  How should I, as a Christian respond? If I am fearful, am I deemed to have no faith? Though unspoken, am I judging those who stay away from church due to the inconveniences of temperature and attendance taking or are caregivers who can’t afford to fall sick?  Do I cancel meetings? Am I genuinely concerned for others or caving into fear? If I insist meetings proceed, am I exposing attendees to unnecessary risks? Who has time to seek the LORD while having to implement immediate stop-gap measures? Do I pause all things to dash to the nearest supermarket to stock up on essentials?  In the midst of all man-made precautionary measures, where is God? 

Sitting in church the Sunday after Singapore raised the DORSCON code to orange was my first chance to pause.  In the frenzy, I had relegated God to the backroom. Now, given time to pause, Philippians 4:6-7 came to mind, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”   In the quietness of the Sanctuary, I was overwhelmed by God’s peace and love. Here I was anxious and concerned over being exposed to the coronavirus yet having a laissez-faire attitude to a more insidious virus, the “sinovirus”! This virus has eternal consequences yet, staying clear of it is not high on my agenda! Why am I not reading and obeying God’s Word as diligently as I am washing my hands and staying away from crowded places!  Why am I less concern with where my loved ones will end up verses where did they just return from? Talk about a warp sense of priorities! 

Is my attitude nonchalant because I know Jesus Christ has paid it all for me? Jesus was sent to the epicentre of sinovirus to make a way out for those who believe. He willingly infected Himself with the virus bearing the consequences on the cross.  His is the ultimate sacrificial love as written in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

The season of LENT is days away, a good time to reprioritise, to recalibrate in light of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.  May I declare like the psalmist in Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” and obediently walk the straight and narrow path to the road that leads to life.

Blessed Easter!

YouTube Video: Panoplyimaging: Lisa Hooper Vocalist Tallowood Baptist Church Choir, Houston Texas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YplWUevyzaA

Calvary’s Love

(Words and Music by Greg Nelson and Phill McHugh)

Calvary's love will sail forever,

Bright and shining, strong and free,

Like an ark of peace and safety

On the sea of human need.

Through the hours of all the ages

Those tired of sailing on their own

Finally rest inside the shadow

Cast by Calvary's love across their souls.

Calvary's love, Calvary's love,

Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of;

The deepest sin can't rise above Calvary's love.

Calvary's love can heal the spirit

Life has crushed and cast aside,

And redeem till heaven's promise

Fills with joy once empty eyes.

So desire to tell His story

Of Love that loved enough to die

Burns away all other passions,

Fed by Calvary's love becomes a fire.

Calvary's love, Calvary's love,

Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of;

The deepest sin can't rise above Calvary's love.

Calvary's love has never faltered,

All its wonders still remain.

Souls still take eternal passage;

Sins atoned and heaven gained,

Sins atoned and heaven gained,

Sins atoned and heaven gained.

Many Thanks To

Ms Elaine Sung

For Writing The Article.

This is the second article written by Ms Sung. Click below to read the first:

'Good Friday Took On A New Meaning'

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2019/04/good-friday-took-on-new-meaning-ms.html

12th April 2020