Artwork by Annalisa Barelli
A few words about God. There is only one God. If there was more than one God, He wouldn’t be God. I use He because that is my cultural background, but I am quite sure He is genderless. I personally believe He is Triune, i.e., He manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but again, I wouldn’t put much weight in those gender roles. I know that most of us conceive of God differently. But that does not mean He is not in control.
True, it doesn’t look like He is in control. This world has gone haywire. Clearly, as a species we are not handling the pandemic very well (some countries better than others). There is discord and finger-pointing and anger and selfishness and profiteering and hoarding and fraud. Why would God allow…
The point is, in control does not mean in charge. (I wish Trump would learn the difference.) God is not going to declare a moratorium on human beings making choices and living with the consequences (good and bad) of those choices. That’s the way this world works. We are here in this predicament because that is where our cumulative choices (as a species) have led us. But He is still in control.
Some of us tend to have pre-conceived ideas of what the world would look like if God was really in control: there would be no pre-marital sex, no abortions, no homosexuality, no dancing, no drinking, no teenage rebellion, the list goes on… again, that is looking for a God in charge (telling us what to do) instead of in control (making whatever we do turn into good). I’m not rejecting morality—us choosing good is what will heal the planet—but God is going to create good out of whatever happens. Because He is in control.
Why do I think He is in control in the time of pandemic? Look how He is cleansing our planet while we are under quarantine! Despite all the ills mentioned above, look at the heroism and sacrifice and love that we are capable of when tested to our limits! Remember that this is not God’s first pandemic. They’ve occurred throughout human history and, then as now, He draws us nearer to Him. In every pandemic-related interaction, the most beneficial result produced is love—I believe that is manifesting itself all over the planet.
So if we buy the premise—God is in control—how do we respond? By aligning ourselves with His purposes. Most of the world’s religions similarly endorse how humans should treat one another—with love, with respect, with compassion—by caring for the sick and the weak and the poor, by loving our neighbors, by putting the needs of others before our own. That is our most noble response to the pandemic. The other thing we should do is not stress—because God is in control.
Leave a Reply