Standing Alone Together
By Rev. Dr. Versey Williams, Contributing Writer
First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” Standing alone together can be challenging and strengthening. The devil would have us believe that our lives will never get back to whatever we considered normal before COVID-19.
Think about this: during this pandemic, we are forced to live out God’s ideal. In 1 Chronicles 17:4-5 we hear, “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: You shall not build me a house to live in. For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought out Israel to this very day, but I have lived in a tent and a tabernacle.” We have built great buildings and ornate sanctuaries but they cannot protect us. We are forced to worship God in spirit and in truth. God is omnipresent and never lived in our buildings. We are God’s church, not the building.
In the Old Testament, people would build an altar at the place of their encounter with God to commemorate their experience and what they learned. Read Genesis to understand the altars in our buildings are symbolic of the human and divine connection God wants with each of us.
In our virtual sanctuaries, we erect our altars in the sacredness of our homes or wherever we find ourselves during our worship services or any other time we have with God. Our salvation is not connected to the building for redemption is through a Spirit Being’s gift of grace and mercy and our willingness to receive the same. Our buildings have beautiful chancel areas; however, we can erect an altar to our Lord right where we are.
God becoming a human in the person of Jesus was just what humanity needed to stand alone together. Jesus knows about isolation and uncertainty. Unfortunately, isolation or quarantining means some of us, or those we know, are in precarious or at-risk situations.
In the sacredness of our alone time with God, kneeling at our respective altars, we stand on our knees praying for ourselves and others. Sometimes standing is praising and thanking God for the victory even though you still have doubts. Sometimes standing is trusting God when you are afraid. Sometimes standing is asking God to help you with your arrogance or pride. Sometimes standing is using your sanctified imagination because sanctification is an ongoing process that helps grow as we renew our minds with God’s word.
Sometimes I miss the building. I am equally thankful to hear the voices of my church family, see their faces, or at least their picture if they wish to remain incognito. Standing alone together means we pray without ceasing and take care of each other so we can withstand the wiles of the devil and not be overtaken with behaviors arising from isolation. None of us, including myself, can grow and draw closer to God alone.
