Could it be that God is so intensely personal that he would burn down our World in hopes of building it back?” – Matt Chandler.
Can the World withstand God’s anger? If really God is angry with us can we still have opportune moment of discussing it as we do? Is it not safer and more suitable to say instead that we have been taking our creator for granted and we are now harvesting the upshots? Have we not let our sins trail us everywhere we go in the believe that we would also not escape the mercy of God that is always there?
Several questions have been raised by people since the Coronavirus disease outbreak became pandemic. Who brought this dreaded disease to the World? Is it from God or from the devil? Why should God allow this, is he angry with us? Questions and questions and no answer as the history making virus continues its ravage globally.
Last Sunday a priest of God who has been ordained in the Catholic Church for nearly 50 years underscored the gravity of the situation on ground in our country today when he said that never since his ordination has he had to celebrate Sunday mass without his parishioners physically before him. But in reality, for over one week now priests in Lagos and Abuja dioceses of the Catholic Church have been conducting masses in empty church hall. It would have been worse but for technology that enables some parishioners to participate via the modern digital means communications.
Just as the revered clergy cannot imagine it happening so it is for many Nigerians who are yet to come to terms with the reality that a sickness arrived our shores whose most effective medication is for human beings to stay at home and refuse to associate with one another. Nothing can be more a foe to humanity than this but that’s where we are at the moment. The sad fact is that the option of surviving the scourge without observing social distancing is very thin.
How did the global community get to this level? This is the all-pervading question being asked by discerning minds as they struggle to dissect the pandemic.
Could it be that the atrocities being committed by the World leaders have reached the attention of God? Did God send the virus or he just allowed it to operate so that God will take glory eventually or to teach some lessons to some arrogant and egoistic leaders and scientists who have forgotten who they are and where they are coming from?
Scripture supports the notion that God allows some terrible things to happen sometimes so that his glory will come out more conspicuous. From the Holy book we were told that when Jesus’ disciples asked him about the man who was born blind whose sin was he suffering for, his parents or who,? He told them no, that sometimes things come in certain way so that God’s glory will be made manifest.
From the same Holy book when Jesus’s family friends, Mary and Martha invited him to come and rescue their brother who was also Jesus’ friend Lazarus from dying he did not come until he died and even stayed four days before coming. When he eventually arrived Lazarus body was already reeking and Jesus we were told in the scripture wept.
Lazarus sisters were visibly and understandably bitter and told Jesus; if you had come earlier our brother would not have died. But Jesus allowed all the stress in the family so that the glory of his father in heaven will be apparent and that was exactly what happened eventually when he raised Lazarus from dead.
Could it therefore be said that God looked away for this virus to come in this way so that he could manifest his way to a people distancing themselves from their creator? Could it be that as we stubbornly continue to distance ourselves from God enjoying material things he gave to comfort us that he got provoked and wanted to show us who he is?
These are all permutations going on in our minds as humanity struggle to scrutinize the Coronavirus pandemic otherwise called COVID-19.
Theologians tell us that every good thing comes from God, that nothing evil comes from him although he arrives if invited to establish his glory by eradicating the evil things. In Lazarus case the Lord was invited by his sisters Mary and Martha, in the blind man’s case he invited Jesus himself to help him. The striking similarity in the two instances is that they all invited Jesus believing faithfully that with him they will get their desired results.
That invitation is apparently what the World is doing today as they are confronted with this plague. Western World that had converted most of their praying centres and Churches into social centres for casinos and all form of vices including gay practice have now been chasing the face of God since COVID-19 arrived the global stage like behemoth. But like he did in the case of Lazarus he takes his time prompting some people to be asking, God are you there? are you not coming? Why do you waste time and allow good and innocent people including your priests to die? Are you still coming?
As the wait for God now leads to frustrations, many are already falling in faith and looking for salvation at the wrong places but not for those who know their God like Mary and Martha who remained steadfast until the messiah came.
Nigerians who throng to Churches and Mosques in their thousands every week are having their faith stretched as the virus spread day in day out. Worse still the fallout is even preventing them from going to Churches and Mosques to supplicate.
God was very considerate in pushing this dreaded disease to start from the areas that had the wherewithal to tackle it.
Since November last year, it gave enough time to enable the underdeveloped part of the globe to prepare well for its arrival. Until February 27th, 2020 the virus did not arrive Nigeria. Even when it arrived we still did not take it seriously, we continued operating as if we were not seeing the havoc it was causing elsewhere earlier to have taken adequate precautions.
Even when apprehensive national parliament begged the President to be proactive and address the country on government’s plans he ignored them until when the virus made direct inroad into the seat of power and hit the most powerful person there, the Chief of staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, a man some arguably refer to as the defacto President because of the quantum of power and influence he wields.
The later day arrival of the carriers of the virus from Europe and America that led to the spread of the disease to Abuja and other cities in the North would have been prevented if the President had acted fast as was expected of him knowing the danger that was coming but he refused to budge.
Last Sunday’s broadcast of the President to many Nigerians was late in coming and ineffective because the damage was already done with over 5000 possible carriers most of them untraceable after contacting with index carriers. Truth is that if the President had responded with little or no delay when he was prompted by the Nigeria Senate, later day carriers who brought it from Europe would not have been able to enter the country casually as they did.
Many Nigerians believe and rightly too that the President’s broadcast came as a response to social media harbingers who had announced that the President was positive with the virus and even flown out 0f the country for treatment. The broadcast rightly put a lie to the fabrications especially his standing up to audibly deliver one of his best national broadcasts since 2015. But it has also opened the door for more of such rumours in future since such fake news heckling has become the only method that draws out an obviously apathetic President out of his cocoon for response.
Dear Musing fans I urge to stay safe, minimize contact with people but increase your contact with God.
It’s well!