Loving Your Neighbour by Suria Scholtz
Whilst many of us initially loved the slower pace of lockdown, thrived on the quieter life and were delighted to have our young adults back home, it is also true that Covid19 has affected much more than just the healthcare system.
The scope of consequences since our country and literally most of the world went into lockdown, is far reaching and severe. I know of marriages that fell apart, extended families that became unglued, businesses that had to close down, whilst a huge amount of people of lower income, lost their jobs. Domestic violence escalated, and far, far too many people lost all hope and took their own lives. Then there are the older people, who suffered immensely during the past months.
Called to be salt and light, we dare not ignore these and other great needs around us. Our mandate as Christians, has not changed because the church cannot function as normal. Although we have always been the hands and feet of Jesus in a lost world, it has never been more imperative for us to love our neighbour, than now. A dear friend from Pretoria, contacted me a few weeks ago. She is 79 years old and was able to help 60 families receive Bibles. We were able to pray together, for her not to miss what God has in store for this season of her life, for she is eager to continue bearing fruit.
It dawned on me that like Queen Ester, we have come to the kingdom for a time like 2020. Yet, many are tired, for it has been a roller coaster year filled with unprecedented emotional highs and lows. And between now and December, more people than usual are queueing for a miracle or two or three.
Which brings me back to Lionel Poilane and his famous bakery I told you about the last time we chatted. On 31 October 2002, with the bakery at its peak, Lionel and his wife were killed after a helicopter he was piloting crashed during thick fog. His two daughters, then 18 and 16 had become orphans. Yet the next morning, Apollonia, the oldest, addressed the Poilane staff in Paris, announcing that she was now in control of the bakery, for she always knew she would one day take over the family business. In her view, the moment that her parents had prepared her for had come, just earlier than any one of them ever expected. In her Harvard university admissions essay that year, she wrote, “The work of several generations is at stake.”
I was deeply challenged by this young girl’s strength of mind and toughness of spirit. During the hardest of times, in the midst of having lost both her parents at once, Apollonia successfully ran one of the most famous bakeries in the world. For the first four years, she did that from her dorm room at Harvard University, reviewing invoices between classes and taking international calls at all hours on her cell phone.
When asked about that time of her life, she shares with fondness about the team of people who had seen her grow up and who knew she wanted to take over. They supported her and worked together to ensure that the business would succeed. While some are still working in the bakery, others were friends of her parents. All were eager to see her and Poilane, succeed.[1]
In the same way, God is eager for people to overcome and want us as Christians to stand by those who are struggling, to stand with them and behind them, whether as a coach or a cheerleader, a professional or a friend. For, I have no doubts, that at the heart of life, at the heart of 2020, and at the heart of the journey of faith, lies this second essential service – to love your neighbour as yourself and carry their burdens whenever necessary.
Due to Covid-19, closed churches and cancelled Sunday services, we are surrounded by so many more opportunities to do good, than usual. It is thus imperative that we remain in the Vine, for only then will we bear fruit, both in season and out of season. Therefore, my fellow Christians, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.[2]
[1] thegentlewoman.co.uk › library › apollonia-poilane
[2] Galatians 6:9
