Gò0dNews for Everyone
What Does Your Contact Tracing Look Like?
C
by Virginia Piper
ontact tracing is a term we all now associate with the
for every kind of god the people chose to worship. Disease,
COVID-19 infection. It’s a strategy used by the medical
filth, and poverty surrounded Him. His purpose and
community to show the spread of the virus from an
mission wasn’t halted because of the circumstances He lived
infected person to others and then from those who have been
in. On the contrary, the circumstances were perfect for Him
exposed and infected on to others. It has the potential to be
to bring the hope we so desperately need. We must look at
endless. In the past year, we’ve seen this phenomenon go
our own lives and ask ourselves, have we have used this
through a population, impacting not only communities but
time in history, our circumstances, to benefit the Kingdom? Or have we used this time of lockdown and quarantine as a welcome excuse to shelve our Bibles and cease praying? Have we become lazy Christians? If we wait until the perfect time to accomplish something great for God, then we will miss our chance to spread the Gospel. We have always lived in an imperfect world and always will. Jesus’ story is so remarkable not only because He brought our redemption but because He accomplished so much in a world just like ours—terribly fractured and broken. Reading through the Scriptures, we can trace Jesus through the encounters He made. His encounters changed lives, from Lazarus and Mary Magdalene to the Twelve
states, countries, and then the entire world. Once it reaches
Disciples, Roman citizens, and beyond the borders of Israel.
mammoth proportions and infects literally thousands of
Their contacts and encounters exponentially multiplied,
people, the illness is referred to as a pandemic.
leading to millions of others down through the ages and to
Looking through a spiritual lens using the same contact
you and me. Much like how the coronavirus spreads, each
tracing concept, how many of us would be able to trace Jesus
encounter, in turn, takes the hope of the Gospel to others
through the encounters we make? The current situation we
where we can reach pandemic proportions for Christ.
are in doesn’t change the mission we are on. Our mission is to
What does your contact tracing show you? How many
work within our circumstances and share Jesus with others.
encounters for Christ have you made? Consider the impact
We are not called to practice à la carte Christianity, allowing
we could make if we would intentionally spread the Gospel
ourselves the option to pick and choose certain aspects of the
as this virus has spread.
Gospel and eliminating those facets that are not convenient When Jesus walked among us, His circumstances included a life spent under the tyranny of Roman rule. Every street corner boasted multiple shops peddling idols
38 // June 2021
About The Author
due to the current state of affairs.
Virginia Piper, RN, BSN, M SpEd. From Air Force Med Tech to Registered Nurse, Virginia’s almost 30 years as a professional nurse has taken her from military to hospital to nursing home to insurance company. Her experience as an advocate in the disability community began when her son Andrew began struggling with his education and grew when her son George was born with Down Syndrome. Her advocacy led her to return to school to get her Masters in Special Education and continued with positions at LifeLine, Inc., the ARC of Hamilton County, and the ARC of Tennessee. Virginia has served on multiple local and state-wide boards through the years and continues to be one of LifeLine’s Parent Mentors. In 2018, based on her personal life experiences, Virginia combined her training experience and furniture refinishing hobby and began a ministry to women struggling to understand who they are in Christ. Ashes to Beauty is based on Isaiah 61:3. You can find more information about her ministry at Ashes to Beauty – Ministry of Renewal and Transformation.
