What's on your mind?
A writer whose work I greatly value, Dr. Dale Meyer, often refers to TOMA – top of the mind awareness. He encourages those of us in the ministry to be cognizant of the thoughts that are atop the minds of those who come for worship or a Bible class or a small group get-together.
What’s been on the top of the minds of those who belong to God and to one another at Redeemer? Well, to judge from correspondence the coronavirus is one such item. While the authorities addressing this on our behalf in the United States assure us that (1) our nation is in good shape with respect to precautions, and (2) regularly washing our hands is one of the best strategies we can practice, what else might we consider?
We could also, perhaps, shake hands less. We could reintroduce the elbow bumps that were the practice a few years ago, or the foot taps that we see on social media. Common sense could well go along with those.
But we may be led to doubt human ability to solve such a crisis, whatever strategies are put in place. That’s a naturally occurring pessimism.
Thankfully, we also have a way of looking at such a threat or scare theologically. Psalm 91 reassures us: “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him…No plague shall come near your tent….” Still, with all the fearmongering going on, there is the temptation to wonder: “Does God answer our every prayer? Does He rescue us from the trouble of the day? Can we truly count on long life, or no plague coming to our house?”
The key is to read the psalm, and all of Scripture, in light of Christ Jesus, as a gospel-centered Christian. That’s the method Dr. Timothy E. Saleska described and encouraged in the recent issue of Concordia Journal. A way to do just that is to consider/remember: God answered Jesus’ prayers and sustained Him in a world of hurt. Jesus has a long-life, thanks to His resurrection from the dead. While Jesus as a true man would have experienced illness, no illness took Him down.
So, reading scripture through Jesus calms our TOMA. Top of the mind awareness meets Jesus, Who, thanks be to God, gives us the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57).