Coronavirus – Target Solution

The providential thread.

We’d love it, right? The final station, target solution to the known issue – coronavirus. How can you imagine one of the target solutions? For example, habits that reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to almost zero.

However, in this series we focus on the providential thread. Therefore, the question is: What reference to God is needed on our part to make Him stop admitting coronavirus? Let us base the answer on the fragment of the Gospel of Luke. Here is the first part:

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” … And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” (Luke 23)

There is something unusual here. Someone nails Jesus’ arms and legs to the cross, and He says, “Father, forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing.” What is this? It is hard to get a stronger illustration of what God pays attention to when He looks at man. God pays attention to motivations, not deeds. They nail His arms and legs and He thinks about their motivations.

When I was writing the article, I went to the window, an old truck stopped nearby, a man got out of it and went to the tenement house opposite. And listen: he was without a mask! At first I was indignant: what an insolent disregard for other people’s lives. But soon the reflection came. “Think about his situation. See how scared he is. Maybe at home four hungry children and an equally scared wife are waiting for him? Maybe he came for some waste that he could sell?

When Roman soldiers nailed Jesus’ hands and feet, He thought why they did it. It is hard to get a more shocking illustration of what God pays attention to when He looks at man.

We look at the providential aspect. I wrote earlier that it would be good for people to be more dependent on God, but you will admit that it is a very general concept. Feeling dependent on God, but in what?

Each of us could take a piece of chalk and write on the sidewalk in front of the house: “God, we will die without You.” Imagine such an action all over the world, CNN, BBC. Or shorter: a triangle and SOS inside. The triangle is a symbol of God. “God save us!” Television broadcasts all over the world.

However, there is a certain target solution in this regard. Our attitude of dependence on God can be expressed in the form of … a change in thinking. That we would learn to think like Him. And today we look at one of the features of this thinking. God does not stop his gaze, figuratively speaking, on our actions. He is looking at the heart.

Change in thinking

Roman soldiers did not know what they were doing, but there were people who knew exactly. Members of the High Council mockingly said, “Let him deliver Hmself if this is the Messiah.” Although they did not physically crucify Jesus, God looks at the motives. The second part of the fragment is ahead of us:

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23)

A crowd of decent people stood there, and Jesus gave salvation to the worst man, at least when judged by deeds. He was a criminal who deserved the death penalty. And yet he heard from Jesus: “today you will be with Me in paradise.” Did Jesus mock the people standing there?

No. He didn’t mock. The problem lies in our thinking that we have learned to look shallow. We see a man in a luxury car and think, “What a conceited man.” We see an older woman who will not take more than a few pennies from us for tailoring and always smiling nice – “what a humble person.”

However, God’s “sight” does not stop at our words and deeds, but only at the heart, at the habitat of our motives. So we also switch our thinking, we put on new glasses and … we stop being surprised.

New glasses

The criminals next to Christ were the worst in deeds. There was a relevant paragraph for this – the death penalty. The rest of those present did not fall under it. However, God looks at the heart. And in our hearts, each of us has such attitudes and motives that we deserve the death penalty. We fell under the paragraph of death. How do we know that? Combination of two quotes from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans:

All have sinned. (Romans 3) The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6)

There is no paragraph in criminal law to disregard God, but there is one in the law that regulates our relationship with God. The payment for sin is death in the sense of eternal separation. And … everyone has sinned.

We are terrified by the coronavirus because it has already killed over 100,000 people. At the same time, we don’t care about another virus, the virus of rebellion that causes spiritual death – eternal separation from God. When does this virus affect a man? This is described by Saint Paul in Romans 7:

I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died (Romans 7)

Every human being, when he comes to the awareness of God’s commandments, gets a virus of rebellion, we can say rebelovirus. And man dies, in a spiritual sense, he is separated from God. The ability to truly communicate with God dies in him. He lives physically, but it is a life separated from God. Now and forever. Coronavirus is a breeze to the rebelovirus when it comes to effects.

Rebelovirus

Criminals on the cross could do nothing to avoid punishment. In a similar way, none of us can change the fact that in God’s eyes he deserved to die. “How is it possible? I’m a decent man. How can you compare me with the worse? ” You right when it comes to deeds. But wear glasses. God does not stop at deeds but at motives, and it looks very different there. We have all rebelled and payment is death. For each of us, no difference.

When we understand this, we will see the meaning of Christ’s death. Christ died instead of us, thus paying the penalty for our rebellion. Here is the idea of substitute death. Thanks to this, we can be released from the death penalty, because it was carried out on Someone who asked that He wanted to take the punishment on Himself. When sins of whole mankind fell upon Christ, even though He was sinless, He became the greatest sinner. Then God the Father gave judgment and carried it out.

Just as the two convicts could not avoid responsibility, so can each of us do nothing to free ourselves from guilt. But I can trust Christ that He became a sacrifice prepared by God to destroy the rebelovirus in me so that I could live.

The rebelovirus medicine is ready. It will transcribe the spiritual DNA, restoring the correct code. You can receive it only as an undeserved gift. What can we deserve here, if God does not look at deeds? But I can trust Christ that what He did on the cross solves the problem.

God looks at the heart. Many decent people who stood there did not use the medicine Jesus had just begun. Why didn’t they use? The reason was what was happening in their hearts. Their actions were quite good. If salvation came from works …

What was happening in their hearts? Rebelovirus. What were the symptoms? Reluctance to give their lives to God. They didn’t want to have God above them. Although they were very religious. However, religion activity belongs to the superficial sphere. Without glasses it seems fine, people care about God so much, but if you wear glasses … unwillingness to surrender to God. You can wear the most sacred, religious clothes and have the most sacred face. But there’s rebellion at heart, life for yourself. This applies to everyone without exception.

Us

Since God is looking at the heart, the question is: What is in my heart? Someone will say: “I am a good person because my actions are above average.” But the question is, who is Jesus Christ to you? Are you ready to give him your whole life?

“Why would I give my life to Him? Does He want it from me? ” The answer is “Yes! He wants!” Maybe you say, “What is God who wants our lives? Like some god who feeds on the lives of victims.” But think! He was the first to give His life to you, he was devoted to death on the cross. And now you give yourself for Him. An extraordinary bond will be created. He wants it.

Maybe you say, “That doesn’t convince me. How can you give your life to God?” I understand. You don’t want to have God above you. You have the right to it. But know that your good deeds and your religion have no meaning to God, since you do not want to have Him as God over you. Go your way, God will not impose.

Someone will say: “God does not exist, there is no God.” But why do you say that? Is it because you researched the facts? No. You didn’t even manage to examine them. You made your choice based on your reluctance to have God above you. With facts it has nothing to do, unless you have made some facts to support your choice.

“But I have my plans and I won’t give anything to God. This is one big nonsense for me. ” OKAY. Your choice. Go alone through life and realize your intentions. Do without God. However, listen to Christ’s assessment of this in Matthew 16:

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16)

According to Jesus, life will leak through your fingers and nothing will be left of it. But if you lose your life for Him, you will regain it, because all that you sacrifice for Him, He will give you with more than that. “No! I will not give up my plans. They are the most important for me. ” OKAY. Your right. Realize your intentions.

Decision

This is more or less the subject between man and God. The question is: what’s in your heart? Do you want to have God above you? We have a rebeliovirus, a deformed spiritual genetic code, resistance to surrendering to God. Do you drive a luxury car and go a hit through life, or you will not take more than a few pennies for tailoring and you always smile, you have the same problem. Resistance to surrendering yourself to God.

But you can make a decision in your mind: “God, I want to turn back on the path of rebellion. I want to be healed. ” See what Christ says in Revelation 3:

I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me. (Revelation 3)

Christ knocks on your heart, you can invite Him to come in and give His life to Him. You can express it with the words of such a prayer:

Christ, I need You! I recognize my sinfulness. I open the door to my life and accept You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins by dying on the cross for me. I am asking for your direction in my life. Make me what you want me to be.

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, direct it personally to Christ.

Each of us could take a piece of chalk and draw a triangle with SOS inside. Action around the world. But more importantly, our humility towards God should be expressed in changed thinking.

God looks at the heart. If we began to think like this, perhaps the goal for which God tolerates coronavirus would be achieved and maybe He will stop it? Because He can.

The providential thread.

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Grzegorz Bednarczyk

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Grzegorz Bednarczyk is involved in Christian teaching in the “Send” Christian Community in Bielsko Biała, he gave about 2000 lectures on the Bestseller of All- time, which is the Bible, exploring the secrets of hermeneutics, examining texts in original languages (even the entire Romans, word by word), trying to translate them into the language of modern man (PhD in communication of concepts at KUL), but primarily because these words have become a personal experience. More articles and lectures at www.coek.pl.

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