None of the above. It’s a virus. Wait, its not some foreign army, aliens from outer space, or some natural disaster. Nope, it’s a virus, one that’s being passed from one human being to another, literally, and all around the planet, even to some of the most remote islands on earth.
The Corona virus, Covid 19, measures 120 nano-meters (nm) across. That’s it? Yep. Let me give you some perspective. A nano-meter is one-billionth of a meter. A meter (39.4 inches) is a little larger that a yard (36 inches). So, if you divide one meter (39.4 inches) into one billion pieces, the Covid 19 virus is only as wide as 120 of those one billion pieces. That is the world’s current, common, enemy; that is the one thing that the entire world is focused on stopping; that microscopic virus is killing people, by the minute, all over the Earth, and our money, our bombs, our weapons, our hatred, our politics, our most brilliant scientists, around the world, at this moment, are powerless to stop it from happening.
All of God’s creation continues to flourish. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, the rain is falling, the geese are squawking as they fly overhead, the sun rises and sets, the stars are still in the night sky along with the moon and the planets. Yet mankind, the highest, most intelligent of all of God’s creatures, has been brought to our knees, by an invisible virus that measures 120 billionths of a meter. The mystery here is how do we defeat it; how do we kill it so that it stops killing so many people?
The prophet Daniel, when faced with the mystery of interpreting the king’s dream, turned to God for wisdom and understanding:
“Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel answered and said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him" (Daniel 2:19-22).
No doubt numerous believers are praying and asking God to help with this “mystery” called the Corona Virus, and that is the right thing to do. Pray that God will be merciful and gracious and give the scientists and medical people wisdom and knowledge; pray that through the countless number of tragedies around the globe that God will reveal everyone’s need for a Savior; pray that believers will be compassionate, caring and loving and not show even a hint of spiritual pride or a judgmental attitude, but remember that they, too, were once lost souls in need of Jesus.
Hopefully all humanity will learn some very important lessons from this battle with a virus. Here’s a few: that life, here, is short and precious; that “things” (cars, boats, houses, money etc.) mean absolutely nothing and are worthless at the time of one’s final breath; that other people, friends and family, are truly the most precious gifts that we have while we’re here on Earth. And most of all, that there is a God who is sovereign over this universe, and every human being will stand before Him at the moment of their physical death (Hebrews 9:27) to give a reason why He should allow them into His heaven. May the gospel message be clearly taught during this time of extreme circumstances.
Out of love, care and concern for others in your community, please heed the advice being given by the medical professionals: (1) stay home if you are sick; (2) wash your hands frequently and vigorously; (3) don’t touch your eyes, nose, mouth or face with your hands; (4) observe the social separation policy of 6 feet of distance; (5) the older generation are the most vulnerable to this virus; (6) please don’t panic and hoard products. By the way, this is an upper respiratory illness, NOT a digestive one; so don’t hoard the toilet paper.
May the Lord keep you and bless you.
By His Grace,
Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.
