Saturday, August 29, 2020

Two by One



Missionaries distributing food in COVID-19 pandemic

I dreamed that my husband Richard and I are seated at the round dining table in the kitchen of a small house we rent out in a rural area. He starts to make breakfast and sets out a loaf of bread and a box of cereal. But then he is interrupted by a phone call from Bill, the next door neighbor.

Richard says he has to leave because he wants to share the Gospel with Bill, and he thinks this would be a good time as Bill said he had some questions about the Bible. I offer to go with him, but Richard says that I should stay at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After Richard leaves I brew some tea and set it on the table, awaiting his return.

When I awaken, it is with a sense of longing and sadness that I was not able to be directly involved in this ministry opportunity, even though it was in a dream, and that I was instead left alone at home. It reminded me that Jesus sent out His disciples two by two to witness and spread the Good News of the Gospel (Mark 6:7).

In normal circumstances, that tradition has continued to the present day, and with good reason. Two or three witnesses are required to establish the truth of a matter (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1) and Jesus said that when two or more are gathered in His Name, He is in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

Two can support one another (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) in their unified purpose of leading others to the Lord, of telling them how they can receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16) by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6).

When I took part in weekly visitation at our former church, home visits were assigned to a married couple, or to two women visiting a single woman or family, or two men visiting a single man or family. This was not only for propriety, abstaining from even the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22), but to make those being visited feel more comfortable.

Usually one visitation partner would take the active role, leading the conversation, answering any questions, and sharing the Gospel as the Holy Spirit opened the door (John 14:16-17; 16:13). Meanwhile, the other partner would sometimes contribute to the flow of conversation as the Lord led (1 Corinthians 2:13; Ephesians 4:15), but often would just pray silently for the Spirit to soften the heart of the unsaved or backslidden person to move closer to the will of Jesus Christ for their life.

But that was in “normal” circumstances, in the pre-COVID-19 era that seems like ages ago, even though it has only been several months. Now, many such ministries have been stifled by the need for social distancing to avoid transmitting the virus, and home visits have become rare or nonexistent. The Gideons are no longer able to distribute Scriptures in person, and many missionaries have encountered restrictions on travel and in-person gatherings that have severely limited their ministries.

In the dream, my longing and sadness over having to stay at home I believe reflect the feelings I have over currently lacking in-person opportunities for ministry, such our dance ministry, teaching a ladies’ Bible study class, and singing in church. But one opportunity that still remains is that of the “silent partner” – the member of the visitation team who prays while the other witnesses.

We may not be able to go to the mission field ourselves, but we can still pray for those who go, and we can give out of our abundance (2 Corinthians 8:14), or even out of our want (Mark 12:44), to support missionaries, pastors, and fellow saints who all have a role in sharing the Gospel. We may not be able to go out two by two, but rather two by one, as each of us in isolation can still do our part to support the two (or more) that go.

Praying for fruit from these missions, and for our fellow-laborers in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9), is no less important than actually doing the legwork, and I believe will also be rewarded when we see Christ face-to-face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

As I think about the other symbolism of the dream, I consider the bread and cereal my husband set on the breakfast table. Breakfast is a particularly important and enjoyable meal, because it follows an overnight fast. In many ways, the period of lockdown and isolation because of the pandemic has been an emotional and spiritual fast, as many of us are at least temporarily deprived of our usual activities and social interactions.

But periods of rest and spiritual renewal are often prescribed in the Bible, and often precede times of great revival, as in the case of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17). As we are still (Psalm 46:10) and wait upon the Lord (Psalm 37:9; 123:2, Isaiah 8:17; 40:31), we can trust that He is doing great things, and that He is preparing us for greater opportunities to serve Him, once all the elements are in place.

Meanwhile, we must pray for wisdom and His strength to empower us to do whatever we can in whatever setting He places us, for we are pilgrims in a foreign country (Hebrews 11:13), longing for our true home in Heaven. It seems fitting that the dream took place in a humble, rural rental home.

In the dream, the table reminded me of the communion table, which should also be preceded by self-examination and fasting (1 Corinthians 11:20-34). The bread, symbolizing Christ as the Bread of Life, had been set out by my husband, the spiritual head of the household. The cereal, which is grain broken in small pieces, I believe symbolizes the breaking of bread in the communion sacrament (1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:24), and ultimately the body of Christ, broken for us (Matthew 26:26).

But the meal was put on hold while my husband went out to share the Gospel. In the interim, I brewed tea, perhaps symbolizing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives when He infuses us with the Living Water (John 7:38; Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13). The tea plant must be crushed and heated before it can produce tea.

Jesus Christ was bruised and suffered to pay for our sins (Isaiah 53:5), and Gethsemane, the place He prayed for us before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:36-46), means “olive press.” Just as an olive is crushed before it can yield its precious oil, so did Christ endure agony, shedding every drop of His precious blood (Matthew 26:28), so that all who trust Him could be anointed with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22), often symbolized as oil in Scripture (1 Samuel 16:13; Isaiah 61:3).

Because I brewed the tea while awaiting my husband’s return, the symbolic elements of communion were ready, but the sacrament itself could not yet take place in his absence. It reminded me that the church, or bride of Christ (Revelation 21:2), is waiting for the Bridegroom’s return (Matthew 9:15) at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), to meet with us in the sky and to celebrate our eternal union at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:9).

Like the ten wise virgins awaiting the Bridegroom, may we use the time wisely, keeping our lamps filled with the oil of the Spirit (Matthew 25:1-13), serving Christ in whatever ways He appoints to us, until His imminent return! 

© 2020 Laurie Collett

 

12 comments:

Aritha said...

Thank you so much for sharing your good thoughts! I learn from it.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks so much, Aritha, for your lovely comment! God bless you,
Laurie

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
Jesus' instruction for his missionaries to be sent out two-by-two seems to have been highjacked within the last few decades by the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses here in the Western world.
There was a time when a group of us went door-to-door, but we found this not only to lack any success but can also be a brutal experience, perhaps with the householder's belief that we are JWs, along with the mentality that "the Englishman's home is his castle" and therefore to receive hospitality from a private home of a stranger is not a done thing, unlike in ancient Middle East times when hospitality was far easier accessible.
It was not until afterwards when I learned that the apostle's calling house-to-house- Acts 5:42 - was by invitation by the householder himself, whose home other Christians met.
An excellent post. May God bless both you and Richard.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Frank,
Yes, my husband especially hated the idea of making "cold calls" on visitation night, when the visit was to be unannounced and uninvited. We agree that circumstances are much more conducive to a God-seeking conversation when the host actually welcomes our presence!
Once when a sister in Christ and I were out on visitation, a young man who passed by us on the street asked us if we were Jehovah's Witnesses. I replied that we were not, but that we were witnesses for Jehovah and His Son. This led to a spiritual conversation and the young man agreed to consider visiting our church.
Thanks as always for sharing your insights and experience. God bless you and Alex,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
very interesting the interpretation of your dream in many areas, I love the way the Lord enables us to understand what He is saying through our dreams. I do not worry that at the moment I am not out in the streets as my friend and I were in Wales for many years, sharing the gospel. I feel that at this moment in time I feel united with other bloggers who encourage one another and are spreading the gospel on the internet. God has a wonderful way of spreading the Word in all situations.
God bless you and your husband Laurie.

David C Brown said...

Sometimes the word is, "And he said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a little", Mark 6:31. But all needs wisdom.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Thank you for your encouragement and for the reminder that God is still using us to spread His Word, even if not in person. Praise the Lord for connecting us with other saints through the Internet, which was not possible until relatively recently. I believe it is another sign that we are in the End Times. God bless you and your ministry,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, David! He will be our streams in the desert, showering us with Living Water as we wait on Him. Thank you for your comment and for sharing that verse. God bless you,
Laurie

Brenda said...

I believe that too Laurie.

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Brenda! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Donald Fishgrab said...

I believe God has allowed the pandemic and the restriction that have been ordered at least partly to make Christians think about what they are doing. How many are traditions that have been adopted from other religions, rather than what God actually commanded? How many are distortions of what God commanded? Too often, just like the Jews in Jesus' day, we distort and pervert God's word for our convenience or to make us seem more spiritual. When we face conflict over those practices it should make us stop adn think about what God said.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Donald,
I agree. God appears to be using the pandemic to bring people closer to Himself. May the unsaved trust in Him, and the saved learn to wait on Him and do things according to His Word and not our own desires. Thanks as always for your insightful comment.
God bless,
Laurie