Contact Tracing Evangelism

“Then the King will say to those at his right hand,

‘Come you that are blessed by my Father,

inherit the kingdom

prepared for you from the foundation of the world;

for I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

I was naked and you gave me clothing,

I was sick and you took care of me,

I was in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him

‘Lord, when was it that we saw you…’“

Matthew 25:34-40

Dear Godly Righteous:

         In this age of the Coronavirus Pandemic, we hear a lot about “Contact Tracing”. If someone is diagnosed with Covid-19, the medical experts try to trace back all the people that the patient may have contacted. If you start thinking about all those personal contacts and the other people those contacts related to also, the numbers quickly expand numerically.

         Most people think they live in a pretty small circle of relationships. But just think of how many relationships you contact each and every day. Consider who it is you relate with; your spouse, a neighbor, parents, siblings, children, co-workers, the clerk at the store, the teller at the bank, the nurse at the doctor’s office, or a friend at church. Now each of those people, of course, goes about his/her life relating to his/her circle of others. Pretty soon your actions and your words have contacted hundreds, if not thousands. By offering kindness, a word of praise, a helping hand to one person, you offer it to many. This also applies if you are angry, resentful, and mean-spirited towards someone.  This carries over to many through that contact tracing line.

         Jesus offers this teaching to his disciples. Each one of us is in relationship with God, just as we are in relationship with each other. If we expect love and compassion in our relationship with God, then we must be living in love and compassion with all others we come into contact with every day. The righteous ask God, When did we come into contact with you, when did we touch your life? And the answer is simple – in everything you do and each contact you have in your life. What if we lived thinking about all those we contact each and every day? Wouldn’t the world be a better place, if we truly lived in that relationship of righteousness, caring for each other like brothers and sisters in the love of God? Maybe it would catch on from you and spread to all the world. Try it this month, pray, care and love all you come into contact with- it could change the world.

                                                                                    In the peace and grace of God,   

                                                                                                                     Pastor Kirk Griffin