People all over the world are worried about getting infected! And rightly so. Today (23 June 2020) there are over 9 million confirmed cases in our world of people infected with the COVID-19 virus. Almost a half million people have died. A second wave of new cases has been identified in parts of Australia. To help keep people safe the Australian government has encouraged people to get the COVIDSafe APP, a tool to help stop the spread of new infections. We are told that this APP will help keep Australians safe by speeding up the process of notifying people who have been in contact with someone with coronavirus. If you've been exposed you will be told what to look for, if you need to self-quarantine, and how to protect yourself and others. It is all about stopping the spread of the virus.
Ever since I arrived in Australia I've been telling people and churches quite a different story! I have been telling people they need to be infectious. Rather than staying away from people and isolating themselves from others, they are to connect with people. And I am not the only one telling this story. As churches we have been encouraging one another to be infectious -- to impact our communities with the gospel and to reach people for Christ.
Perhaps you never thought about this, but our mission as Christians and churches in some ways is just like the work of viruses. Some viruses are very clever. They just wait for the right conditions to come along so they can make copies of themselves. When a virus gets into your body it latches on to your cells so it can make more copies of itself. The new viruses spread to the cells next door and then the cells next to these, infecting your body bit by bit. Just one virus in your body can make thousands of copies of itself and make you very sick!
Now I am not saying that as Christians and churches we are to make other people sick. Quite the contrary! We live in a sin-infected world, and like any nasty virus, if this sin-disease is left untreated, it will result in death! This sin-disease spreads from person to person, infecting them bit by bit. We see the impact of this sin-disease all around us. But there is a cure! That cure for sin is found in Jesus, who gave us victory over sin and death through his death on the cross and his rising from the grave. The Bible puts it like this: "Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from the dead as he did. We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control." (Romans 6:5-7) Those who put their faith in Jesus are saved (see Romans 10:9-13). Once saved, we are to spread this salvation to others by making disciples of those around us. First this person, and then the next, and bit by bit spreading salvation to all.
Perhaps you have heard it said of you, or someone else, "They have an infectious smile." This is a compliment, not something negative. It means that your smile causes other people to smile. Just try it sometime. Just smile at someone, and you will see them smile back. A smile is infectious. And so too is a life saved by Jesus! In fact, Jesus said it is "like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." (Matthew 13:33) Like a virus our infectious lives have an impact on the people around us. Like a virus our infectious churches have an impact on the community around us. This is simply the nature of being a follower of Jesus and a community of believers. We are infectious. Instead of making people sick, we make them better. Jesus came so that we can have real and eternal life, more and better life than we've ever dreamed of. (see John 10:10) This better life we have in Christ we pass on to others.
Suppose we had a ChurchHEALTH APP and this APP would tell us whether or not your church was infectious! In my library I have a book that is entitled, Viral Churches. This book describes churches which have an infectious impact in our society. Like viruses, they multiply over and over again and make a difference in our world. Is this your church? Is your church infectious? Like yeast in a clump of dough, is your church making a lasting impact in your community? And what about you? Do you have an infectious faith? Is your faith passing on to others, like a virus, spreading from one person to the next, bit by bit? Check out Growing Healthy Churches or Organic Outreach to discover how you can become infectious! It's all about spreading the love of God and new life in Christ. Be infectious!