But, then there are verses like Romans 1:18. Check it out again.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18–ESV)
There are other verses too, but I won’t tromp to them right now. The bottom line is the Bible is not silent on bad-events as God-judgment. This is a real concept and if you accept the legitimacy of the Bible as the message of God to a broken world they must be dealt with. Dealing with real messages requires real pondering, not snap deciding. Let your mind go beyond the quick clicks of a snap-chat world to draw helpful, useful, lasting conclusions.
So, the way I interpret the world I live in requires me to read from two “books”. I believe from the scriptures (one of those “books”) that God does bring judgment (aka harm) to humans. I believe from looking at the world (the other of those “books”) that harmful events show up routinely (hurricanes, tsunamis, cancer, earthquakes, volcanoes) adding danger to life on planet earth 1.
So with any event that puts humans at risk, swirling around our worried feet are questions about causation. Causation? It just means what, or who, caused problem x,y, or z. Rephrasing it, “Is an earthquake spontaneous: an earth-fault? Or is an earthquake deity driven: God’s fault?” Specific to us, “Is coronavirus spontaneous2? Or, is coronavirus God brought?”
You know what? Those answers are not knowable, though some spiritually boisterous people will race to make some Bible verse fit their sense of God-did-it. He may have. He may not have. While we cannot know those exact answer we do know that God always expects certain behaviors, styles, interaction patterns among humans. We do best to turn from the “Why?” the “Did God do coronavirus?” to what about me? How is my personal relationship with God? How am I living in a relationship with my fellow man and the environment?
“Did God cause coronavirus as a punishment?” is far less important than, “Am I doing what God would have me do right now?” Am I focusing on true things, noble things, right things? Am I living my life in service to others rather than in service to my future, my bank account, my preferences?
Margie Simard says
Whether God caused the Coronavirus or not.
I feel like it is a reminder that God controls everything. That no matter how hard we try to be in control, We need to get right with God and do as he has commanded each one of us to love our neighbors and be a light for those who are lost.
Lane Ulrich says
Absolutely! We so badly want to control our lives, but we are really in a big, big fish tank. God set it up so that the water and food and such are changed and provided. We should accept that and as is said in Frozen 2, “Do the next, right thing.” God, of course, has given us guidance on the next, right thing. Thanks for the comment.
Ashley Cozart says
Whether God poured our corona into the world or just allowed it to happen—he expects his children to respond in a way that is a testimony of our faith in Him! Life is battle after battle—as believers we must remember we win! 🙌🏻
So this is how my mind is working at the moment with two of my immediate family dealing with anxiety over their health. ( both healthy). 😩. As I lay awake thinking about how I can convey, once again the message that God is in control and he is drawing us close through our struggles this title came to mind—
From Seed to Soldier—
We are “seeds” planted in this world—given the ability to choose to be planted in the Kingdom of God or lay dormant in the kingdom of darkness. Redeemed by Christ and planted in the Word of God we are nourished and strengthened by the Master Gardener to become “mighty warriors”—soldiers for Christ! Life in this world is a battle because the enemy—the king of cowards would love nothing more than suppress our growth by feeding into our weaknesses and creating anxiety in our hearts —trying to make us believe that our KING —the King of kings-does not have the ability to care for us! The enemy engages us first in our minds—this is where the battle begins! He tries to make us think we can’t make it without the knowledge, the luxuries, all the comforts of this world—being a soldier is too hard, too risky! Stay in your comfort zone—he says, keep your beliefs to yourself etc…Soldier! Jesus says—remember who you belong to! Remember Ephesians 6:10-18–Be strong, armor up, stand firm and pray! Whose your king? The King of kings or the king of cowards? If you are a seed planted in the kingdom of God — be a soldier! If you don’t know Him as Savior then you are coal destined for the cowards kingdom!
Lane Ulrich says
Great analogy. It is really important (and really tough…hence the need for the toughness of a soldier) to let the situations (including our own health…death? Yep) rest right in God’s hands.