God and the Coronavirus

If I were challenged to explain God’s position on this coronavirus and its effect on our world today, as anyone else, I would likely grapple and wrestle with my thoughts and how to communicate them. But if there was ever a time for anyone to self-examine one’s spiritual convictions, it would be now.

To begin, I would offer a disclaimer to admit that I am a doubter and on my best days, I am not a fundamental believer. In other words, if someone wanted to read about some of the most traditional religious dogmas, I would never be a good source. In my case, I have never been one to promote or encourage the validity of someone else’s views. I have always been on a very personal journey regarding my faith and I never take anyone’s word for what I cannot test for myself. Needless to say, I would not want to depend on a prayer-cloth, purchased from a televangelist, to get us through this pandemic.

I believe the ultimate answer is available for everyone and not just for the few who can muster up the faith to believe it to be so. Love, in a word, is what we can rely on. Whether we’ve accepted a specific religious path or not, the case for Love has been proven over and over. Life is just one thing and we are all expressions of it. The only way through any trial we face as a people, is to respond as a people. We are truly all in this together. If Love is the one thing we know we can rely on, we should trust it to get us through this.

I believe in people in general. I think we will naturally be more inclined to love our neighbors when we learn that more and more of our neighbors may actually need something.

On Tuesday, in Atlanta, Quazavier Dupre was on his way home from work and he saw a house on fire. His work crew was with him and he said their first reaction was to stop and help. Inside the house, they found a man, a woman and a baby. Darrell McClendon said he had to save the family. He has children of his own and was thinking about them. The woman in the house was naked and the men clothed her. The men who stopped to help “neighbors” on the way home from work, saved the family.

Dupree told reporters he was just doing God’s will. Cornell White said he didn’t feel like a hero, but a blessing and he said, “Thank God for that.”

Hearts like that will get us through this. If we see someone in need, we will have an opportunity to help. It’s not that we won’t see smoke, flames and families facing such challenges, but we will see the best in people and we will see people running into dangerous situations to help. Where is God in this pandemic? We can see Him. He’ll look like Quazavier Dupre and his friends.