Contact tracing is a term we all now associate with the COVID-19 infection. It’s a strategy used by the medical community to show the spread of the virus from an infected person to others and then from those who have been exposed and infected on to others. It has the potential to be endless. In the past year we’ve seen this phenomenon go through a population impacting not only communities, but States, countries, and then the entire world. Once it reaches mammoth proportions and infects literally thousands of people the illness is referred to as a pandemic.
Looking through a spiritual lens using the same contact tracing concept, how many of us would be able to trace Jesus through the encounters we make? The current situation we are in doesn’t change the mission we are on. Our mission is to work within our circumstances and share Jesus with others. We are not called to practice a la carte Christianity allowing ourselves the option to pick and choose certain aspects of the Gospel eliminating those facets that are not convenient due to the current state of affairs.
When Jesus walked among us his circumstances included a life spent under the tyranny of Roman rule. Every street corner boasted multiple shops peddling idols for every kind of god the people chose to worship. Disease, filth, and poverty surrounded Him. His purpose and mission wasn’t halted because of circumstances He lived in. On the contrary, the circumstances were perfect for Him to bring the hope we so desperately need. We must look at our own lives and ask ourselves if we have used this time in history, our circumstances, to benefit the Kingdom? Or, have we used this time of lockdown and quarantine as a welcome excuse to shelve our Bibles and cease praying? Have we become circumstantially complacent? If we wait until the perfect time to accomplish something great for God then we will miss our chance to spread the Gospel. We have always lived in an imperfect world and always will. Jesus’ story is so remarkable not only because he brought our redemption but because He accomplished so much in a world just like ours-terribly fractured and broken.
Reading through the scriptures we can trace Jesus through the encounters He made. His encounters changed lives. Picture the encounter in John 20, when at the tomb, Jesus made Himself known to Mary Magdalene. He instructed her to “Go and tell”. Mary’s life had been forever changed because Jesus had taken the time to reveal Himself and speak to her. From the mouths of the twelve disciples to Roman citizens and beyond the borders of Israel, their contacts and encounters exponentially multiplied leading to millions of others down through the ages to you and I. Much like how the corona virus spreads, each encounter in turn takes the hope of the Gospel to others where we can reach pandemic proportions for Christ.
What does your contact tracing show you? How many encounters for Christ have you made? Have you intentionally reached out to those the church has perhaps ignored or forgotten?
Consider the impact we could make if we would intentionally spread the Gospel as this virus has spread.
