Northview Blog It's Harvest Time: The High Calling of COVID-19 and the Jesus-12 April 20, 2020 This unprecedented time in our world’s history has many developing feelings of fear and anxiety that perhaps aren’t their normal mode.In all sincerity, and from my engineering-trained mind, scripture has it spot on. Matthew 6:27 (NIV) is a verse that has been close to me all my life: “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”As we watch the DOW index tumble, we worry about our futures. When Jesus called the 12, who freely walked away from their gainful employment, their homes, their families and their 401Ks to go from fishing for fish to fishing for men, where was their worry? They literally didn’t know where they would be laying their heads at night. Their high calling replaced worldly gain.With our clear mission being Matthew 28:19 (NIV)—“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”—we should be able to see the silver lining of this historic time.When the DOW is at 29,000 and our pleasures are met with ease and two-ply toilet paper abounds, Jesus can be a tough sell to a successful entrepreneur living in a gated community with a “My child is an honor-roll student at a very expensive private school” bumper sticker on his late-model SUV.Christians, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! Fear is a tool of Satan. Peace is the gift of a relationship with Jesus Christ. If we really believe that our retirement plan is Heaven, then why do we worry for a moment of our status on Earth, which doesn’t even show up as a blip on eternity’s radar?Let us use this time to remove people’s fears. Share the hope of Jesus. Let’s not miss this Harvest Time. Have empathy and patience with others because without Christ, there is legitimate fear. The fields have never been fuller, the potential yield larger, the fruit sweeter, the Hope more real than ever before. This is a time for rejoicing, as many will come to Christ. by Jeff Pinyot Culture Relationships