CALLED DURING COVID B E C O M I N G A PA S T O R I N C H A L L E N G I N G T I M E S
BY ADAM CHANDLER WHATEVER GAIN I HAD, I COUNTED AS LOSS FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST. INDEED, I COUNT EVERYTHING AS LOSS BECAUSE OF THE SURPASSING WORTH OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS MY LORD. FOR HIS SAKE I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS AND COUNT THEM AS RUBBISH, IN ORDER THAT I MAY GAIN CHRIST. - PHILIPPIANS 3:7-8
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hat sums it up, doesn’t it? By gaining Christ we have lost the world for the world rejects Him. Yet, because we are in Christ, we gain the surpassing worth of knowing One through whom we gain more than the world: the riches of God’s grace. Though we live in the hope and promise of our Lord, we still suffer the loss of things present in this world. This fact has been all too evident in 2020. Social, physical, and economic stability have been lost by many people the world over. COVID-19 and its complications have wrought hardship. But God never abandons His people in times of
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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN September/October 2020
distress and danger. He continues to serve and guide us even in times of tribulation. The Lord does not abandon His Church; He leads her beyond suffering and into salvation. God revealed this in Jesus Christ, whose suffering and death were not the end of His story. Through the power of His resurrection and ascension, Jesus raises us from the threat of death into His eternal kingdom. The triumph of Christ shines in the darkness of these despairing times. That’s something I’ve seen firsthand in these months since my transition from seminary student to serving as a pastor in my first call.
