Essential

We know that God is manifesting His presence through His people, which has a profound impact on this world. In Psalm 145, we find these words:
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You.

We have been placed on this earth for a purpose and God desires to work through His people to demonstrate His mercy and goodness. We can be careful to watch our witness and to make sure that we are being obedient to His will for us.  He empowers us to walk in His love and gives us wisdom, so that we can help give direction and hope to those who need it.  In our society, the Church has a place in solving problems and being very active in the work of transforming individual lives and groups of people.

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In 1st Peter chapter 3, we find a passage that underscores the position of the Church in the world today and the importance of demonstrating His love. It says:
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

The question of the essential nature of churches and ministry organizations, which has been proven over time, was challenged on the front end of the coronavirus pandemic, with some state governmental officials classifying or treating the important work of these entities as non-essential, and therefore severely curbing their work at a time in which the Church was needed in numerous ways.

In retrospect, now you are seeing lawmakers who are attempting to right the wrongs that were perpetrated on the Church and other ministry organizations during those days.  One of the most recent is from the state of South Carolina, where, according to ChristianHeadlines.com, last week, the governor "signed a bill into law that labels churches and religious organizations an 'essential service' during emergencies and, essentially, prohibits the government from closing them."

The article relates:

The goal of the new law, signed by Gov. Henry McMaster, is to prevent the state from ordering churches to close during an emergency like COVID-19 -- as happened in California and numerous other states.

McMaster never closed churches during the pandemic, according to The State newspaper.

“During a state of emergency, religious services are deemed an essential service and are considered necessary and vital to the health and welfare of the public,” the new law says.

Greg Chaufen of Alliance Defending Freedom, which supported the law, said: “While public officials have the authority and responsibility to protect public health and safety, the First Amendment prohibits the government from treating houses of worship and religious organizations worse than shopping centers, restaurants, or gyms.”

In Virginia, according to FoxNews.com, one of its legislative chambers, the House of Delegates last month had approved legislation that would "protect churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious bodies from any 'rule, regulation, or order' from the governor or another government agency, a move to block the government-ordered closure of houses of worship that took place during the pandemic."  But a select group of lawmakers blocked the advance of the bill in the Senate.

Other state legislatures have deliberated legislation protecting churches during a time of emergency.  The lack of legislative involvement in crafting a response to the COVID pandemic led to a concentration of power in governor's offices all across America.

I think it can be encouraging to reflect from time to time about how essential churches and religious organizations are in the fabric of our nation.  I came across an article through Google that examines, as the title, suggests, The Positive Impact of Christianity.  It's from Walterboro Live, which is based in South Carolina. 

The article included some facts presented by journalist, author, and pastor John Dickerson. It relates:

Though many today believe science and faith are incompatible, committed Christians like: Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler and Blaise Pascal all played key roles in launching the Scientific Revolution.

Despite the fact that some universities are now openly hostile to Christianity, Dickerson discovered, “Nearly every leading university in the world was founded by Christians.”

It goes on to say:

Dickerson also reported that hospitals and formal philanthropy to care for the poor grew largely from Christian ministries.

While certainly many Christians were pro-slavery prior to the Civil War, the author learned that among the most influential abolitionists, the ones who worked most tirelessly to overthrow slavery, he could not find one who was not a Christian.

When putting together his conclusions after ten years of research, this is how Dickerson summarized his findings, “Remove Christians from the last 500 years, and the evidence suggests we would be much closer to the illiterate average person of world history. That is, without the Christian founded norm of public education, the letters on this page would make no more sense to us than they do to a chipmunk.”

This is evidence of the love of Christ in action and the wisdom of God in actuality.  The Church's primary mission is to see people coming into a saving knowledge of Christ, but you can also contend that by improving conditions around us, we are testifying to the greatness of God.  By showing the love of God and exercising His wisdom, we make the world more conducive to people experiencing the presence of the Lord.

So, when you have those who try to marginalize the Church and its witness, we can continue to be bold and confident.  The Walterboro article touched on it in the education area and I would extend the premise to say that this world would be a far different place if not for the presence of the Church, representing Christ, fulfilling His mission, and testifying to His love.