WHY DOESN’T GOD DO SOMETHING?

Last week, someone commented on a video I posted on YouTube entitled HOW TO USE JESUS’ PRAYER TO FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS, 

“If God exists, either there’s nothing he can do to stop it, or he chooses not to. Those are the only two choices.”

Are those the only two choices? Either God can’t or God won’t? 

It is conceivable that God can’t stop the virus. If God is like Dr. Frankenstein who created a monster he couldn’t control, perhaps God is powerless to stop it. Alternatively, God may choose not to stop it for whatever reasons God has in mind. Maybe he doesn’t care. Both of these views make prayer irrelevant, which was this person’s point. But are those “the only two choices”?

What if God . . .

What if God created a world where viruses, plants and animals reproduce according to their kind? Imagine if God put humans in charge of that world to keep it and take care of it? Let’s say the humans didn’t do their job and it got out of control. Now what? 

What if God had to step in as a human to show us both what God is like and what a human had potential to be like? Can you imagine that God-as-a-human was subject to everything we are, even up to and including death? 

What if that God-as-a-human broke through death and came out the other side into a new kind of permanent, incorruptible life? Let’s just say he promised that now eternal life was possible for the rest of us. 

What if God gave his own Spirit and heart to those who trust in this God-human? Could those humans get back on track with keeping and taking care of the world?

What if they learned to harness the power of science to better manage the planet? Could the Spirit of God in the humans lead them into “all truth” as the God-human promised? Can you imagine if working together, they stopped the virus, found a cure, grew into a new community, beat swords into plowshares and participated in the restoration of all things?  We might call that the kingdom of God, the new Jerusalem or heaven on earth.

God can and God will

So God can and God will. He just likes to do it in partnership with his kids.  So pray and work. Practice physical distancing and social connection. Ask and act. These are not opposed to each other. They are necessary partners – like God and humanity.

Peace, Todd

P.S. Join me on YouTube Thursday at 8 PM and Sunday at 8:45 AM as we partner with God together from our separate homes.