But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
“What a grandeur of spirit it is to struggle with all the powers of an unshaken mind against so many onsets of devastation and death! What sublimity to stand erect amid the desolation of the human race and not to lie prostrate with those who have no hope in God; but rather to rejoice and to embrace the benefit of the occasion that in thus bravely showing forth our faith, and by suffering endured going forward to Christ by the narrow way that Christ trod we may receive the reward of His life and faith according to His own judgment!
Assuredly he may fear to die who not being regenerated of water and the Spirit is delivered over to the fires of Gehenna. He may fear to die who is not enrolled in the cross and passion of Christ. He may fear to die who from this death shall pass over to a second death. He may fear to die whom on his departure from this world eternal flame shall torment with never ending punishments. He may fear to die who has this advantage in a lengthened delay that in the meanwhile his groanings and his anguish are being postponed.”
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, writing during the plague in North Africa (c. 251) in Treatise VII, On the Mortality, 14, in Treatises in The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325, Volume 5 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1899) 472.
How can we have “an unshaken mind” despite the “devastation and death” all around us? The answer is simple. We can endure the struggle and stand erect because of the victory of Christ over sin and death on the cross.
In my recent blog article entitled, “Counterintuitive Advice For Ministry Fundraisers During The COVID-19 Crisis” which I wrote for the Lausanne Ministry Fundraising Network and reposted on the GTP blog, I made three points. I’ll let you click to read the article to hear the first two points, but here is a summary of the third one.
My advice is to “celebrate and unite people” during this challenging season. Why celebrate? This is the counterintuitive part. Even though the plague is spreading widely, as in the days of Cyprian, we don’t have fear of death because our Savior Jesus died on the cross and rose again, victorious over sin and death.
This victory becomes a rally cry that unites us. So, in whatever area of God’s work we are serving, we can all stay the course, as the Apostle Paul, would exhort us. We can always, even in a plague time, give ourselves fully to the Lord’s work knowing that our labor is not in vain.
So, let us resolve, now more than ever, to live, give, serve, and love generously because of the victory of Christ on the cross.