Romans 1: 12 NKJV
There has been plenty of talk lately among Christians and non Christians alike as to why God would allow such a season as we are experiencing. Keep in mind that, as followers of Jesus, that we were never promised a easy time in life. On the contrary, Jesus predicted just the opposite for us {John 16:33}. We can expect to experience more than this current crisis that's for sure. One question I get a lot from people who know my faith is, what is God doing? I refuse to ask Him that question. His ways have never been my own ways. The question I will ask my Father is, what are you trying to show me, Lord? I feel that our question gains a bit more validity when we approach it this way. So, what is it that God is doing through all of this? Well, I wouldn't be at all surprised if He wasn't trying to introduce Himself to a wayward culture. However, one response I got the other day surprised me. Perhaps God is using this situation in order to bring people together. Maybe. My dear friend who continues to remain nameless even stated that God had used our current situation that he might be connected with his neighbors. Sounds good, if you want to believe that. As for myself, I'm skeptical of this line of thinking. So you think that God is using this situation to bring you closer to your neighbors? Well, your neighbors were there before the virus arrived, where were your neighborly ambitions then? I can speak all day long that God is using this situation to bring me closer to others around me, but what was I doing before it began? There are people around me that I could be acquainted with, if it wasn't for my hermit gene. Yes, it is totally within our Lords abilities to draw us closer to those around us, and perhaps He will accomplish that for you, but to make that His sole purpose for our current situation? I'm not buying it. What makes this a interesting situation is that we who are followers of Christ have a unique access to the Father. The apostle Paul assures us that we have Christ Jesus within us {Galatians 2:20}. Therefore, we have a line of communication with Him, if our ears will hear. I prefer not to think of it as talking, but more along the lines of meditating or contemplating. We have Christ in us, and we know His voice.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life (life for a season), and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand."
John 10: 27 - 28 NKJV
Honestly, since this entire situation began I have not approached God too many times with questions as to why He would allow such a horrible situation. Why? Because I know that I can trust Him to do what is best not only for me, but for others as well. I'm not foolish enough to believe that God is somehow punishing a unrepentant nation. That's old testament jargon and it sucks. We are assured that God, our heavenly Father, is love by His very nature {1 John 4:8}. I refuse to believe that God would love me enough to provide for my salvation just to bring me to a point where He can punish me. So, why is it that God has allowed us to go through this situation? That I'm not sure of, but I know that you will most likely get different answers from different people. What is your view of God? Do you see Him as a far distant overseer watching over whatever bad things we might do? Then you might just believe that God is punishing our nation for whatever evil or wickedness we've done. If, like me, you see yourself as a extension of Jesus who is in you, then you may have a different take on this entire situation. For I do not see God as a punisher, but as a loving Father. Did we always agree with the decisions our own fathers made? No, but we could be assured that they were meant to uplift and teach and not to condemn. A good father will do that. So it is with God. Whatever our minds tell us about the sin issue, He took care of that as well {Romans 6:11}. So it is that I believe that God is not punishing our nation for its sins. We might disagree as to why our heavenly Father chose this time to bring about this situation, but we can certainly agree that His love for His children is without end.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment