For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  –Matthew 25:35-40 (NIV)

In Matthew 25, in the parable of the sheep and goats, the righteous seem a bit confused as to when they had tended to a hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, and sick Jesus.  “When did we…?” the righteous asked.  Then Jesus enlightened them and explained, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). In the aftermath of the Middle Tennessee Tornadoes, and with the Coronavirus spread looming on the outskirts of our community, how do we respond as a church?

In the hours shortly after the disaster struck, Prophetess Smith issued a directive for us to follow in fulfilling our call to serve the community through our effort at ministering to the total man.  After the call to corporate prayer that night, she told us to begin gathering donations of needed items and for those physically able to volunteer in the community.  We set about organizing a small effort from within our church family to gather donations of much-needed supplies to help with disaster recovery.  With the idea that there is so much going on to create fear and panic and threat to man’s faith in God, the church has the important opportunity to serve as a beacon of hope and refuge.  We thank God for all of the generous donors!

While manning the donation site one night, news of the impending arrival of the Coronavirus sparked a lively conversation about just what we need to do to protect ourselves and to continue living through however long this pandemic endures.  Prophetess Smith previously spoke on this topic instructing us as believers to pray and trust God no matter what.  Still, we discussed protective gear, safe habits, and all sorts of ideas through which we hoped we might arrive at the solution.  By the end of the discussion, none of us had come up with any better overall directive really than to pray and trust God.  It’s an important piece of instruction when chaos comes, because so many people will give in to the overwhelming feeling of “too much going on” if not for a consistent reliance on God. 

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