The words Lockdown and Blessings seem to be an oxymoron, two words that can never go together. However let us look at the positive side of this lockdown even during the Passion Week.
My message is for all Fathers, Mothers and children, families locked down together. This is the first time in recent history of the church that Christians are forced to stay away from their beloved Churches during such a momentous time as Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Even people who hardly stepped into the church at other times would make it a point to visit the church during these blessed occasions. But this year it was not possible.
It reminds me of the first Passover that was celebrated in Egypt. Exodus 12 gives us a detailed account of that Passover. The Passover was meant to be observed by families behind locked doors.
The Passover Lamb was slaughtered by the father and its blood applied to the doorposts and lintels of the house. The Passover meal was prepared by the mother. The children were told to be dressed up for the occasion. No one was allowed to step outside the house. The door would be locked and they would observe the Passover as a family partaking of the Passover meal, ready for flight at any moment. There was danger outside the door.
The Angel of Death would Passover Egypt that night, striking all the first born of man or animals to death if they were not behind the bloodstained door. It was a very compelling reason to be with your family inside the locked doors protected by the blood of the sacrificial lamb.
The sacrificial lamb was the main symbol of the Old Testament Passover. The Lord gave explicit instructions on what to do with the lamb:
“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you” (Exodus 12:21-23).
Once the head of the family decided to obey this commandment, he automatically brought his whole family into safety. Everyone inside that house which was covered by the blood of the sacrificial lamb was safe, because the father decided to put his family under the bolood.
The blood on the doorposts and the lintel also speak of the cross of Jesus, the true Lamb of God who went to the cross on Good Friday to shed His precious blood for us.
Today every family that comes under that blood is safe. In fact your children are sanctified once you receive Jesus, The Bible says that the sanctified will sanctify the unsanctified (see 1 Corinthians 7:14). Yes, they will still need to personally receive Jesus as their Savior, but God has marked them for salvation because you are saved!
This Good Friday and Easter Sunday we all had to be under lockdown, having services in our own houses. Though we missed going to our beautiful churches and being blessed by the sermons of our Pastors, many fathers and mothers were forced to become the priests of the family, calling all their children to worship. It was a Kairos time (Opportune time) for many families. Families who could never worship together were now worshipping together.
The darkness outside caused a certain solemnity inside, hearts were more open to God and to what He had to say, the true significance of applying the Blood of the Sacrificial Lamb Jesus Christ to our houses and to our lives became very personal. The story of the Passover was no longer just a story anymore, it was a means to life.
Families worshipping together during this time will become a source of great strength to the church as it opens.
Many of us who have been too busy to give time to our families are now getting that precious time with our loved ones. We are getting to know each other like never before. The busyness of life, for clergy, professionals, businessmen, alike gave us so little time to spend with our families. Sometimes our children grew up and left the nest before we even knew it.
Use this Kairos time to worship together. Everyone is at home. Choose a time that will be suitable for everyone, if you have late risers I recommend you choose a later time, let no one feel stressed, let everyone be relaxed as you worship the Lord of the Passover together.
As the church opens its doors after the lockdown, because the assembling of the believers together is most important, the families will be rushing inside the church with testimonies of God’s favor, provision and love during the lockdown. This was a season that the devil meant for evil, but God has turned it around for good. The Bible tells us that all things work together for good to them that love Him. We will be having His Love Feast together, The Communion, with our hearts full of thanksgiving and joy.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28
God is at work in every situation, every circumstance, let’s look for the blessings and not focus on the darkness. He is risen! You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart. Amen
Nini Sekhose