Loving and Being Loved in this Pandemic . . . Pressing into Philippians 2

. . . I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you . . .
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:34-35 NLT

I recently read somewhere on social media that we shouldn’t wear face masks during this pandemic because we are made in the image of God and His image is reflected in our faces.

Really?

True, it is hard to recognize someone if the bottom half of their face is covered. But I’ve been thinking about this lately . . .

“The eyes are the window of the soul,” they say. I think this is true. A person can communicate much through their eyes, especially depth of emotion — joy, sorrow, anger, grief and so on.

In addition, a person’s voice is very distinctive, isn’t it? In fact, we often recognize a friend or loved one who calls on the phone, simply by the sound of their voice.

But here’s a truth that trumps them all. Perhaps the best way we image-bearers can express the image of God is by actually wearing a mask. Why? Because God is Love. And the best way God’s children can show forth Who He is, is by loving as He loves.

So what do you think Jesus would be doing right now as HE walks around in our shoes? For myself, I think the Jesus in me would be wearing a mask and keeping social distance because He in and through me loves others more than Himself. He is loving others through me with HIS sacrificial love which lays down His life for His brothers and sisters and so I will too. Because it’s not just about my own safety, but that of others in my world.

And really, what a small price to pay to help protect others, just in case.

So maybe the question is “Why NOT wear a mask and keep my distance, just in case those precautions might protect others more vulnerable than myself?”

What about you, my dear friends? Are you torn by the messages you are hearing about your rights to call your own shots? Are we not called to lay aside our rights for the sake of others? Remember this as a child of the God who is love — It’s not about us at all. It’s about HIS love poured out through each of us, His beloved kids, His friends.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:3-11 NLT

Amen.