15 Jan Break the Chain

When we constantly keep doing something in life, it becomes a part of our system. We must all remember the nuclear chain reactions about which we studied in our high school physics. It is startling how a single reaction can trigger a self-propagating series of chain reactions which can then set off a deadly and destructive nuclear explosion. Our life in a way has been very much like this nuclear chain reaction all these years. We started our lives as a believer intending to go somewhere in a straight line linear reaction. But unfortunately, for many of us, a series of self-propagating chain reactions then happened completely taking us off the course. These chain reactions need not necessarily be bad things that came into our lives. They can be regular life events. We probably opted for an over-demanding job that keeps us awake and on our toes all our prime years or else we are bound in a marriage that squeezes all our energy out with no time left for student ministry. Or, may be we are students needing an additional hand to balance our crazy lives as we try to establish our unique identities in our respective societies.

Wherever we were all these years, we have run non-stop with no one to stop us in a chain reaction like life. But somewhere deep inside, we knew that if things went like this in a vicious cycle, we may end up causing more harm than good to those in our circles of influence. But, just when our life seemed impossible to amend, COVID hit us. It has been already six months since the pandemic started raging in India and it is still threatening our lives every day. The new normal is funny and serious at the same time. But out of all of the mess caused by this invisible virus, if there was one good thing that emerged, it is the opportunity that we all have now to break the chain in our lives. I mean, to break the chain of self-propagating series of life events that have threatened to destroy our spiritual life and ministry altogether. Today, the pandemic has given us all enough time to introspect our lives especially to introspect our relationship with Jesus and also to introspect our roles in the great commission.

Today, as most of us work from the comforts of our homes, or attend virtual classrooms from the corners of our houses, it is high time we start investing ourselves more into the ministry of Jesus and start carrying His gospel to our peers living in these extremely confusing times. If we are still giving the excuse of not having enough time on our hands, then we have to seriously examine and restructure the priorities of our life. We are saving more time today than at any other time. Of course, we still have commitments to our over-demanding jobs, our over exerting marriages, and our over exhausting studies. But, the new normal has given us enough flexibility to streamline these areas of our lives and live a purposeful life. It is up to us now to break the chain of destructive sequences that disrupt our spiritual lives. If we are willing to yield, God can break us, mould us, and use us for His Glory

To conclude the same nuclear chain reaction that sets off a destructive nuclear weapon and devastates the land can also be controlled in a nuclear power plant to become a source of electricity to thousands of impoverished villages. Similarly, the new normal can become another new series of events to cause destructive spirituality unless we hand over the controls to Jesus. He can use someone as weak as you and me to become a source of blessing to many in times of this unprecedented pandemic, if we willingly submit our schedules into His hands.
Here is an interesting Bible verse that we can relate to, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose- Romans 8:28

Dr. Steward Gracian is a dentist by training and is currently working in KIIT TBI, Bhubaneswar on a Med Tech Innovation funded by a government grant. He is closely associated with Bhubaneswar EGF and UESI Odisha. He loves writing for the kingdom cause and his blogs can be read at https://stewardtoaking.wordpress.com/. Any thoughts or feedback on this article can be sent at stuvia2j@gmail.com