It's too easy in or modern first world lives to forget about what matters; what sort of person are we making of ourselves?
Corona virus is helping us meditate on our own deaths. Satan works hard to make us pretend that we will live forever but the reality is that no one gets out of this life alive.
But when we ignore that our ultimate purpose is to become more like Christ-- to become good loving caring people-- we can make all sorts of stupid decisions ranging from watching porn, and thereby exploiting other people, to avoiding having kids, because we'd rather spend the money on ourselves.
God isn't sending the corona virus; He's allowing it to draw out some greater good. We know that because that's what the Bible says; God allows evil only to draw out greater good.
His will for us was that we never had to die and that we never got sick; but Adam and Eve destroyed that by rejecting Him.
He loves all of us and wants all of us to be in Heaven and He wants what's best for us in this life.
But because He's the perfect father He will allow us to suffer. When a child does something that's bad for themselves--shoplifts, eats too much chocolate and gets sick, etc--a parent will punish them, and remember punishment involves suffering. They do so not because they hate their child but precisely because they love their child and they don't want their child to hurt themselves or become a bad person.
The reality is that as things go the corona virus is pretty mild; it's unlikely to kill any where near as many people as the Spanish Flu did and most of those who do die have already had long lives. Whereas the Spanish Flu killed the young and the healthy who had only lived a relatively short while.
However by presenting us with proof that we are not gods who control our own lives or who can manipulate reality God is reminding us of our relationship to Him and what it means to be good.
Further He's giving young people the opportunity to be unselfishly charitable. While the young know that the corona virus isn't going to kill them they're still sacrificing partying, sports, etc to protect the elderly who are at risk.
Prayer is having a conversation with God. People who lack faith in god often ask why we pray since God knows what we need. The answer is that my teenage son might know that I'll let him use the car on Saturday but if he just took the car without asking he'd be in trouble. God wants us to remember that everything good we have is from Him not to lord it over us but rather to ensure that we know the truth because, as the motto of Cal Tech says, "The Truth Shall Set You Free".
If we live as though there is no God, as though we're in charge, we will start making up rules that we think are good but which in fact hurt us; in this life and the next.
Hence by telling us to pray God is helping us keep our sights on the truth and not fall for lies and deceptions that attempt to create a false god free reality.
Don't view the corona virus as a curse but as a blessing; an opportunity to renew your relationship with the God who loves you so much that He died on the Cross so that you could spend eternity in perfect happiness with Him.
Also remember that we can make this virus into an opportunity to love our neighbors as Jesus commanded us to.
Remember what James wrote:
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:15-17
In this time don't fight over toilet paper and don't panic about the stock market but do share what you have with those in need.
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