# From the Editor From the Editor Language: en Author: Curvin L Wenger Original issue: The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Spring 2021, Number 1 Source pages: 3, 33 Read article: Original PDF: Spring\-2021\-Remnant\.pdf [The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Spring 2021]() ![]() Greetings of Christian love to one and all\. This past year and a half have been challenging in one way or another for most people\. *My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience\. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing –James 1:2\-4\.* We trust that no matter what each of you has faced your inner motivation echoes with the words of Apostle Paul, *… for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content\. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need\. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me\. –Philippians 4:11\-13\.* As we are already almost halfway through another year, I stop to consider how time keeps disappearing at an ever\-increasing rate of speed\. For many, the last 16 to 18 months have been quite challenging as the Covid\-19 pandemic and its aftereffects continue to wreak havoc with all that used to be considered normal\. For us, some of these aftereffects have hindered us from getting this issue of the magazine out in a timely manner\. Our apologies\. However, things are back on track to be able to get the next issue out within the next several months, thus allowing us to get back onto our normal schedule once more\. I see the pandemic and the resulting aftereffects as quite similar to one big traffic jam\. First, many vehicles are all traveling along quite smoothly at the speed limit\. Gradually more and more vehicles join the flow, until the highway becomes quite congested\. However, things still continue to flow unhindered until suddenly one vehicle brakes sharply and swerves to avoid some debris on the roadway\. Immediately, there is a ripple\-effect or domino\-effect, as each vehicle brakes to avoid hitting the one in front of them that just applied their brakes\. I have seen this type of situation create stop\-and\-go traffic for a mile or more as traffic slows to a crawl, then once each vehicle finally gets past the offending object they can once more accelerate to their previous rate of speed\. With our world’s economies, both local and global, the same thing seemingly has happened, howbeit on a much, much larger scale\. First came the shutdowns, both local and national, causing businesses to lose production and sales\. Then as businesses reopened and their workers began to get sick, further production was lost\. Suddenly, many manufacturers found themselves behind in their inventory reserve, which graduated into being behind in their ability to supply the demand\. Since so much of our world’s businesses have developed trade at a global level, there are many products that are not available for sale as manufacturers wait for the “company overseas” to once more have enough supply to meet the global demand\. Another problem that has developed more recently is that due to the major imbalance of supply versus demand on a global level, the cost of purchase for many products has skyrocketed awakening fears among some economists of a global crisis due to inflation\. Where does this leave the church? It seems that the “enemy of our souls” has used this global event to cause churches everywhere to struggle on many levels\. I have on my bookshelf a book titled Conscience in Crisis, which is about church history\. This book specifically examines the struggle of the “peace” churches in colonial America\. One of the key points the book focuses on is that the global events of that time period shook the very foundations of their faith and practice\. This caused the collective conscience of the churches to face an unprecedented crisis level, which many individuals never overcame\. Some gave up the faith, some quit going to church, some walked away from their church and started going to more worldly churches\. And the ones that remained, struggled substantially through many issues until they once more were considered stable\. ## Our Perspective Matters When I think of the word perspective, the definition I am using is: *a particular attitude toward, or way, of regarding something; a point of view*\. It is like the prescription of the ***glasses*** we have in front of our eyes causing us to see things in a distorted manner or with a clear 20/20 view\. Or it is like using a ***filter*** in your computer or in your vehicle engine, which only lets through that which is pre\-determined should be allowed\. So, our perspective is akin to using a *filter* or a *pair of glasses*\. Our perspective is shaped by many things: the way we were trained as children, the role models we chose to follow during our formative years, the reading material we absorbed, the spiritual mentors we opened our hearts to, and the peers we embraced throughout our lifetime\. Also, our perspective determines how we look at situations, how we interact with God, how we view sin and salvation, and how we respond to both friends and enemies\. ![A bee on a white flower]() In our world today, there are many perspectives, all vying for our allegiance\. Many are the “special interest” groups clamoring for our support of their cause\. There’s race discrimination on both sides of the matter\. There are voices crying “foul” in their effort to gain support and an advantage against their opponents regarding voting rights, honesty of the election outcomes, and desired legislative changes to the judicial system and the Constitution\. While there have always been multiple sides to an issue, there has usually been an effort to work together for the good of all\. However, in the last number of years it seems that numerous issues have become quite divisive to the point of polarizing the people into two camps\. The balance of power in government has been swinging back and forth from the one side to the other\. This polarization has been causing bitterness and anger to build, in some instances erupting into violence and vandalism\. In other instances, it has caused normally level\-headed individuals to lose their cool and make “knee\-jerk” reactionary decisions which are totally out of character for them\. In the midst of all this chaos and confusion, what is our perspective as the church? Are we remaining steadfast in allowing God and His Word to mold and shape our perspective to be aligned with His perspective? Or have we allowed the pressure of one peer group or another to start pushing us off\-course in our walk as strangers and pilgrims? I have heard reports of some churches in other parts of the world being pushed by their local government to not meet for fellowship and group worship\. There are families whose conscience chooses to obey the government in long\-term mask wearing and social distancing\. Individuals have become discouraged\. Families have become isolated\. And churches have struggled through one issue after another in their efforts to maintain peace among the brethren\. As I have interacted with people who are not regular church goers, or those who attend a “dying” church, an “older” church, or a “small country” church, there are numerous things I have heard them testify regarding the churches of the conservative, Anabaptist persuasion\. These people are awed by the way we help each other both on a regular basis and when tragedy strikes\. They can’t comprehend the large size of our weddings and especially our funerals\. They don’t understand how our children are mild\-mannered and respectful of others\. Let’s take heed and use wisdom as we continue facing the challenges in the days to come\. From my limited vantage point, I believe that long\-term mask wearing and social distancing that is practiced at the expense of normal worship as we understand the Scriptures to teach, will eventually have a negative ripple effect on us as believers\. Many years ago, as I was involved in learning from the “counseling model”, it was spoken of as quite troubling and detrimental to interpersonal relationships IF someone had a “mask” on \(figuratively\)\. As I have evaluated and considered the long\-term effect of a person having a “mask” on \(literally\), I believe it WILL cause as much and more detriment to interpersonal relationships\. There is something about visiting with brothers and sisters of the faith when you can see their whole face\. Without even realizing it, we read body language and facial expressions, which aids in understanding and conveying thoughts as we communicate with one another\. Thus, it is my personal opinion that long\-term mask wearing and social distancing by a local church body will eventually degrade the level of spiritual life and fervor to the point of someday that local body will no longer stand out from all the rest of the nominal Christians around them\. May God bless each one\. May we not give up the spiritual fight\. May we ever keep our eyes fixed on our Father, our Saviour, and our eternal home\. Curvin L Wenger ## Magazine citation - [A bee on a white flower](): Unsplash\.com