Wow, what a time of uncertainty we are in now thanks to the coronavirus. No one knows what
is going to happen in the coming weeks or months. Many people are quarantined to their
homes and have been that way for weeks. So many questions out there and so few answers. I
have heard many different theories about everything. No one seems to be on the same page
about what is to come and what we need to do. Some people are staying home, others are
going to the few stores that are open to shop. I see people wearing masks and others that are
not. I hear this leader saying one thing, then hear another saying something different. I have
watched as the number of cases increase and the number of deaths increase. We should be
praying for all of those that are sick and their families as well as the families of those that have
passed. I also think about how hard it is to see God anywhere in this all. This is a time when
faith gets tested. For those of us that have been fortunate enough to not been infected or not
know anyone that has been infected it is very easy to say things like, God is in control, or telling
people that we are praying for them. It would be interesting to hear the online sermons from
pastors around the nation also. I wonder how they are explaining God in all of this? Being raised
in the church we are taught that it is not acceptable to question God or to have doubts. We are
taught the fear of going to hell or the fear of God giving up on us because of our sins. Some of
us have been taught that disasters such as this are "God's wrath on us". We are filled with many
deceptions about God that it's no wonder people don't want to believe in Jesus. The selfishness
that we have of looking out for me and no one else also goes against everything Jesus is about. I
guess what I am trying to say is that our beliefs about God needs to be based on what the Bible
tells us not what we have heard or been taught.
Here is the thing that has hit me the most during these times. We are all in this
together!! No matter our nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, how healthy we are, social
status, or how much money we have, we are all in this same boat together. This scripture has
come to my mind during this time.
James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and
one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them
the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it
does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.”
Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You
believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do
you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our
father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith
was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the
Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by
works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works
when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
We have been good about talking about our faith and forcing it onto everyone we come
in contact with through our words. Especially during the good times. God is not to be forced on
anyone, or brought to anyone out of fear. Jesus didn't judge people he simply loved them. In
these times it is important for us to show our faith through our works and quit professing our
faith with our mouths. We have to mainly show our faith in Jesus through the way that we love
and care for everyone. Everyone, not just the ones that have things in common with us or the
ones that we want to love. Once again, we are all in this together and the way we get through it
is together. The things that once divided us no longer divide us. We all have sin, we all have
doubts, we all have questions, we all have fears, and none of us are in control. I believe what I
believe because the Bible says it. I need to put that belief and faith in to action through the
things that I do and not simply through the things that I say. Saying that God is in control
doesn't prove that we believe God is in control. If I don't act like God is in control than my
words are hollow and I become the thing that has forced so many away from Jesus Christ, a
hypocrit. Yes, we are all hypocritical to some extent, but when we let our actions speak for us
instead of our words, our hypocrisy fades. I miss you all and look forward to the time when we
can all be together again.