The COVID-19 pandemic has brought fears in everyone’s hearts as the respiratory disease continues to spread worldwide, killing over 8,000 people. Countries have implemented quarantines to prevent the further transmission of the coronavirus, banning public gatherings, including work, religious practices, and personal celebrations.
Amid the extraordinary circumstances, Christians continue to hold on to their faith and share God’s love through helping those affected by the disease.
For Christians, it is better that we should die serving our neighbor than surrounded in a pile of masks we never got a chance to use. —Lyman Stone, research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies
A circulating video of Italians singing their hearts out of their apartment balconies sends a positive image. Many of them are Christians, singing worship songs, reports Mission Network News.
Davide Bogliolo, from Operation Mobilization Italy (OMI), said, “Now we are stuck in the houses. I have to say that the theme here is is quite good. And we are healthy, you know, none of us has been infected or is as any kind of has the problem. So, the staff is okay.”
Bogliolo encourages people to become a source of inspiration during this critical time. He challenges believers in Italy, “How can we be a blessing for Italy, after the crisis, to have wisdom and depth [of] vision? To meet people and to encourage and restore them with the Gospel after this emotional crisis that we are facing?”
Christians are known to be charitable and help those in need, as Jesus taught his disciples. In China, Christians braved the streets to distribute face masks to passersby while some were teaching the Gospel.
In an interview with Catholic news website, Aleteia, Lyman Stone, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, said, “For Christians, it is better that we should die serving our neighbor than surrounded in a pile of masks we never got a chance to use.”
Dr. William Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shared that, “I have witnessed firsthand the impact of the faith community’s work in global disease outbreaks.” He added, “The faith community has always stepped in to enhance response efforts where our public health and clinical settings lack the capacity or expertise to comfort patients, families and whole communities.”
