Today, I want to speak to us about how we, as Christians, are called to respond in times like this.

Now, obviously, we are called to be wise and responsible. We should carefully consider all the recommended precautions from the Health Bodies and other officials.
-As Christians, we should demonstrate sanity, sympathy, and take one day at a time.
-And of course, we should pray. We should pray for those affected, for the tireless workers caring for those who are affected, and for the international authorities who are working around the clock to prevent, contain, and eradicate this virus.
-As Christians, we are called to all those things.

(Matthew 6:25-34)

There are two major things that Jesus is teaching us here in this passage.
How do we rise to this occasion as Christians? Well, like always, Jesus leads our way. So, let’s hear from him.

“²⁵ Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

²⁶ Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

²⁷ Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

²⁸ And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

²⁹ And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

³⁰ Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹ Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³² (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

³⁴ Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

There are 2 major aspects of life according to 2Corithians 4:18
“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not see are eternal.”

I want to make a very important distinction between these two things.

-The things which are seen are right before us. They are the things that are easy for us to focus on right now. The secular things.

-The things which are not seen are the invisible spiritual realities that are beyond us. They are the sacred things.

Now, we need to be clear that these two things are not divided. We should never have an unbiblical divide between the sacred and the secular, the physical and the spiritual. Oh no. Remember, who is Jesus? Who is addressing us here? Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh. The divine and the human in one. These two parts are simply sides of a coin and are interconnected and relate to other another, so the seen and the unseen, the physical and the spiritual make up our lives and our world.

But you see, our trouble too often in life is all we see, all we focus on are our immediate problems and we’ve lost sight of the unseen divine eternal things that are meant to put everything into proper perspective.

WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE SEEN AND OBVIOUS RIGHT NOW?

-Right now, the World Health Organization officially declared the Coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a pandemic.

-What is seen right now is the frightening possibilities coming from the news reports that we have been hearing about every day.
-About how bad the virus is and all the effects that this might have on our society, economy, and day-to-day living. This is what we see.

But we must remember, it is only one side of the coin!

NOW THERE ARE THE THINGS WHICH ARE UNSEEN.

-There are divine spiritual realities and promises that are meant to put all of this into the right perspective.
-And this is what Jesus is showing us here in this passage. He recognizes both the seen and unseen aspects of our life.
-He is not dismissing our immediate cares, and needs, but he wants us to see that that’s not the whole picture.
-He wants us to see our needs in light of the colorful dynamic spiritual realities of God’s Fatherly character and kingdom. And it’s in the light of  that Jesus teaches us to do two things:

• The first is something to avoid
• the second is something to pursue.

The first thing we’re told is, “Do not worry”
The second thing we were told is, “Seek first the kingdom of God.”

So, he doesn’t just give us the negative, he gives us the positive. This is always the way true Christianity works.
-It doesn’t just tell us what to put off, it tells us what to put on.
-It doesn’t just tell us to say no, it always gives us a bigger and better yes.

Jesus gives us two commands—Do not worry and seek first the kingdom.