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This is definitely an Easter with a difference. In my over 60 years of life, I cannot remember an Easter Sunday that I was not in a Sanctuary to celebrate the Easter Sunday. I have written in the past about how the Easter period should be the most joyous of all Christian celebrations. The joy of Easter is not the kind of joy we see in everyday life. This is so because it brings into memory one of the most impactful events of Christendom. It is an event upon which the whole of our faith is situated. The joy of Easter is that kind of joy where you feel the Lord’s embrace. Easter is that time of the year that you must find someone you can touch positively as Christ has impacted our lives so positively, so we can pass on the embrace. But alas, this is not a possibility this year because we must stay away from each other. No Easter egg hunt for the children. No sharing of food as we usually do in our community. I was personally looking forward to a great time of praise and dancing this year at Church as my birthday falls on Easter Sunday. But this is not to be, as the coronavirus has changed how we live, how we work, how we socialize, and most of all, how we worship. It is like everyone suddenly changed their places of abode. We live on Zoom now. We work on Zoom now. We meet on Zoom now, and we worship, too, on Zoom now. The other day, the women were meeting, and I noticed they were watching a video on Zoom. So, I told the men that we need to organize a movie day on Zoom soon.
Despite all of the things we are not able to do now, when all is said and done, this Easter season will be noted for how impactful it will be on our faith. This is because it offers us time to spend retuning our relationship with God. Many of us have always taken our relationships for granted. Now that it looks like we are losing control to a mere virus, I am sure it will cause us to think twice about those relationships. There are many children who cannot go to visit their parents and there are parents who have to make do with having video calls with their children in this era of social distancing. We must, however, still count our blessings. It could be worse. Yes, we are stuck at home, but it could be worse. Yes, we are not able to go to Church to worship, but it could be worse. Some folks are in the hospital with coronavirus, I am sure they will rather be at home. So, in all things we must give thanks to God, the one who knows our end from our beginning. Many of us may beef over little things but this time of solitude should be the time of reflections and putting things in the proper perspective. It is a time we must use to reprioritize things in our busy lives to make time for God. After all, many of us are learning that we are non-essential where we once thought we were indispensable.
As the days pass by, let us re-evaluate our commitments. Let us think about those things that keep us from serving the Lord. Are they as important as we once thought they were? I am slowly coming to the realization that there are certain things that I am doing that are not material or profitable. So, let us use this time as a time to reflect and identify the things that will bring the most joy to the greatest number of people. It is a humbling experience to feel restricted to one’s home and not be able to do anything about it. But it is a time to try your hands on new things. It is a time to pick up new hobbies. It is a time to spend in meditating on the word of God. It is a time to seek new ways of fulfilling our purpose in Christ Jesus. There are so many ways we can channel our energy. Being stuck at home does not mean we must be stuck on ideas. It is time to open our minds and let the Holy Spirit have His way with us. There will be life after social distancing; we can make it worth our while if we plan for that life now. We have all the time we need on our hands.
This time at home will never come back. So, we must do all we can to make the best use of it. During this time seek what the Lord’s will is for you. For us Christians nothing happens by chance. God, surely, has a plan for us. Let us pay heed to the word of God – “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity (redeeming the time – KJV), because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” – Ephesians 5:15-17. These times are different, but I can assure you there are opportunities in them for us. We must continuously seek the face of God for guidance and make sure we redeem the time. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya
