2020 has been a year. There have been some years where nothing too extraordinary has occurred, years that pass by quietly, but this year has felt like a decade squished into 6 months. Consider this though:
If you take yourself out of the present and were instead viewing the world as a channel on a big TV in the universe. And on this channel, you were viewing the past events of the year, starting from say September through to today. I feel as though this viewing was not normal but controlled by buttons on a remote control relating to the events of the world. Hopefully, I haven’t lost you yet. Though there are many events that could be used all around the world from different years, I will choose these as an example.
The first part of the channel segment was the bushfires in Australia. It’s like we viewed this with a slow-motion/fast forward button… Let me explain. Every year, we have bushfires in Australia, it is a necessary cause of high alert. However, these fires happened more sporadically and slower, but then changed to frequently and occurring across borders. Before we realised it, our country was on fire, literally. Every state and territory had more than one bushfire, and state icons were destroyed: buildings, businesses, homes, lives, livestock. Many thousands fought the fires with courage and tenacity. Reinforcements from allies overseas were called in to help. After many months, they finally got control of the fires and put them out. And after the fires were put out, its like someone hit the pause button. But not for long.
While we were concerned about the fires, rumblings of a virus began to emerge overseas. It’s like we watched this segment with a fast forward button. Cases began to increase significantly in the host country. We hoped that this was nothing to be concerned about, but we were wrong. The virus spread like fire, sweeping right around the world. And here in Australia, we lost the plot a few times. Grocery stores were stripped bare of essential non-perishable items. Toilet paper was apparently one way to combat the virus. We relearnt how to properly wash our hands. We understood the importance of gloves, Hand Sanitiser, Glen 20/Disinfectants and face masks. Border closures, grounded flights, social distancing, and self-isolation became the new norm. We hoped it would flatten the curve, and for some states it has, praise God. And then the pause button was pressed. We thought we would be okay. We were so wrong.
In the US, a man died at the hand of a police officer who used brutal tactics. This segment of the TV was viewed with the rewind button. This was filmed by onlookers and the story spread worldwide, not because it was an isolated incident. Many other testimonies emerged of women, men and children being shot and severely mistreated while doing normal life activities because of the colour of their skin. From this spouted one of the greatest movements seen in our time, the Black Lives Matter movement. And not just because of present situations but a system of mistreatment and abuse at the hands of not just Law enforcement officers, but seemingly law-abiding citizens as well.
Before I go on, some of these details may seem surface level. As I am not fully aware of the scope and depth of the Black Lives’ Matter movement, I’d prefer not to make any statements that may be misconstrued or may add kerosene to an already burning fire. Though I obviously had an opinion about the movement, it didn’t sync with me till I was on a drive with my family when the thought of crayons popped into my mind. When I was in lower primary, when I would ask for a cream/light pink coloured crayon/pencil, I would refer to it as “skin colour”. Somehow, my teachers knew what colour I was referring to, but no one ever corrected me, as my skin colour is not the only one that exists in the world. I realised at that point that systemic racism was actually very real, but so subtle in some cases that you wouldn’t think twice about it, at least if you weren’t the subject of it.
Through the Black Lives Matter [BLM] movement, it’s like someone pressed the rewind button, showing us the past and what many hundreds of thousands, nay millions of others have had to suffer silently, through for decades, subconsciously gagged. The fact that a child needs to have a list of instructions of what he/she needs to wear, behave/say etc. in order to survive an interaction outside of the house is something that should never have to exist, let alone be thought about. And yet, it does for many children. Thousands broke distancing restrictions to protest the truth globally. And the pause button was pressed. Not to stop the movement, but to reflect on our reactions and treatment of the past, present and future.
Now consider this, that it is not just a remote controller, but the Remote Controller, one who is away from the world. The name, however, sounds cold and barbaric, it might as well be changed to the ‘Distant Tyrant’. An image of one who has no investment in the course of humans and merely uses and manipulates them like puppets. If this is your image of God, then I’m sorry to say that you’ve been poisoned by the devil’s lies. That is not the God that I serve, and ‘Distant Tyrant’ is not his title.
He is the Dual-citizen planner, he is both King of Heaven and Earth. For every predicament and situation you have ever faced, all of the possibilities that you’ve had to decide He has already planned accordingly. He has zigged when you have zagged and has zagged when you have zigged. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present. He is not distant, but close to those who need him, which if you haven’t realised, is everyone!
My favourite button of the remote control is the pause button. It does not mean that the program has stopped and is over. So often, though we mistake pause for stop and give up, turn off the TV and walk away, when instead we should be waiting patiently, getting ready for what is to come. I believe we are in a pause phase, waiting for the second coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. But this doesn’t mean that we should stop and leave the TV. No, we should be patiently waiting and preparing for that which we know is coming. Because we don’t know when the Remote Controller will click the pause button again.
WRITER: Amber Melhuish, attends Mt. Gravatt SDA Church.