The world is beginning to reopen – stores, restaurants, theatres, offices are coming alive again. Although the church never closes (because the work of Christ in the world never stops!) we have not been able to worship in person in a while. This Sunday, however, we will begin to responsibly meet in person again. As things reopen and people begin to reunite, I’ve been pondering these questions: what do I want to reopen myself to? And what would the perfect reopening look like?

Early in the pandemic, Dave Hollis said, “In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” Great question! What do you want your new normal to look like? What do you want to open yourself up to in your vocation, your relationships, your faith, your hobbies? And as you open yourself up to these things again what do you want them to look like? What would be the ideal situation in each of these areas?

The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians, “The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead. It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose (Phil 3:10-12).”

Paul gets it. He is living for the resurrected Christ. He is not dwelling on the past or longing for the good ol’ days. He is growing forward, pursuing Jesus in all he does. I want to be like Paul as we begin to reopen. In a world filled with many good and great answers, Jesus is the best answer! If we could give people the opportunity to experience who Jesus really is, the world would truly change.

We are an Easter people! Grab hold of this truth, pursue it, live it, share it, and may our “new normal” be centered on Jesus!