In a one-off guest column, Gordon Weir, pastor of Bethesda Christian Fellowship in Helensburgh, writes about the lessons from a Christian perspective that society as a whole might learn from the coronavirus pandemic.
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A FRIEND of mine said recently: “I wonder if God is using the coronavirus to send us to our rooms to think again about what life is all about.”
I think she might be nearer the truth than she imagines.
C.S. Lewis said: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Certainly, with Covid-19 there’s been plenty pain. Many of us have suffered directly at the hands of Covid-19 or we may know someone who has been ill or who has lost a loved one, or we may be worried about the future and how we’re going to pay the bills.
READ MORE: Opinion: Was coronavirus crisis sent to us as a punishment from God?
So, if God is shouting to us through this painful time, what on earth is he saying?
First of all, I don’t believe coronavirus came from God. Humankind has produced this one all by itself.
But if God is using it to send us to our rooms so that we think again, what are we thinking? Do we think there is no God, or that God is out to get us?
No. He sent Jesus His Son to evidence His reality and to prove His love for us.
READ MORE: In Depth: Lockdown presents a chance for change at Helensburgh and Lomond's churches
I suspect He’s saying He wants to bring life and hope into a world that struggling with death and despair.
Why do I think that? Well the Bible has been saying it for 2,000 years, through every pandemic, every world emergency, and every calamity that over the centuries has sent us to our rooms to think again.
A man who is asleep in a burning building would not call it kindness if you let him dream on. He needs to waken up and take action.
God loves us, he knows what we need, and sometimes it might just take a pandemic to waken us up from our apathy and jolt us, albeit reluctantly, into thinking about God, seeking God, and considering these bigger questions.
READ MORE: Opinion: Maybe some of us just aren't ready for a 'new normal' as lockdown is eased
His megaphone tactics may be very unwelcome but perhaps, simultaneously, we might start reading the Bible, thinking about why Jesus came, and considering, when the lockdown is over, paying a visit to that church on the corner with the new building.
hen maybe, with God’s help, there will be a light at the end of this tunnel that makes the dark shadows vanish and the new days overflow with life and hope and joy: where wounds are healed, sorrows are comforted, and yes, bills are paid, and God, the Living God, has a new place at the centre of a world that had almost forgotten He was there.
If you need help with anything or just want to chat to someone, or if you want to Zoom our Sunday services during the lockdown, phone or text me on 07581 570090.
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