1236. News + Coronavirus Part 2 – How Should We Respond?

Coronavirus Part 2 – How Should We Respond?

Click here for last week’s article which was the first in this series. It presented the possibility that God is using the Coronavirus as a form of judgment. The good news is that God’s past judgments were meant to drive people to repentance so they could be forgiven and run into God’s open arms. If this is what God is doing today, consider how wicked our world (and our nation) must be for a pandemic to be required.

While there are exceptions, the most common reactions to our situation shows how self-absorbed we have become. Most people will never get beyond how the pandemic has affected them. Eventually, some will wonder if there’s something larger-some meaning to it all. Some of those who don’t know the Lord will become fearful as they wonder if the pandemic has apocalyptic significance. Some will go so far as to believe there may be a god who is responsible-a god who, in their minds, must be mean, unloving, and vengeful.

At the same time, those Christians who have broken free from the secular, carnal way of thinking have found meaning for themselves and for life outside of themselves. 

Like Paul, for them, to live is Christ. They have entered into a oneness with their Lord, enabling Him to become their life. They have realized that their old nature contained nothing of value. Having become so frustrated with their fleshly failures, they have agreed with Paul that their old life must be put to death. They “reckoned” that their old man did, indeed, die with Christ. It was also buried with Christ, and when He was raised from the dead to newness of life, so were they.

Because the truth has set them free, they can walk through this “reset” free from fear, knowing that Christ is now their life, and in Him, they are secure in every way. Since Christ’s life is eternal life, what happened to Him in the past happened to them, and what will happen to Him will happen to them. Since they have shared in the cross and all it brought, they will also share in His glory when He returns to earth, ruling and reigning with Him as His bride. With this knowledge, they remain strong and steady as the world is being shaken.

This is God’s desire for every human alive today. He will use Covid-19 to make this unconquerable faith available to every person on earth through faith in His Son, Jesus. In spite of the way the world sees our current pandemic, it is actually an act of love to a rebellious world as He offers what may be mankind’s final opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness. The only reason He has waited so long is to offer more time for people to repent.

While God is offering mercy where He finds repentance, every true believer has an opportunity to display God’s heart to those He is pursuing. We must join God in His mission of mercy. Needs are everywhere. If Jesus’ followers are to continue in His footsteps, we must bring a pandemic of compassion just like the believers during the Plague of Cyprian.

If Christ is truly our life, we must let Him live out His life through His bond-servants in whatever manner He chooses, bringing comfort and aid to those who have yet to experience the hope Jesus offers.

At the same time, since we are in a crisis of biblical proportions, we should also consider the biblical possibilities. Are we experiencing the birth pangs of Matthew 24:8? Is the stage being set for the world’s fake savior (the Antichrist) to emerge, taking advantage of the chaos to reveal himself as the world’s great unifier? Does the first article above signal the formation of the one-world government (and religion) prophesied in Revelation 17 and 18? Is this meant to prepare us for something much worse? Is God preparing Christ’s Church for the coming persecution? Since these are very real possibilities, we must be watchful, understanding the unique times we are in.

On the positive side, it’s wonderful to see competing companies working together and to see so many innovations being born out of necessity. It’s also encouraging to see how so many people have found ways to come together even while we’re forced to stay apart. People are adjusting and making the best of a tough situation, but will they allow themselves to be changed by their creator as their world changes? Will you?

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