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God of the Macro and the Micro Worlds

“Who is God and what is He like?”  The answer to these questions will become the foundation on which you build your view of everything.  For example, it determines your views on family, religion, government, and money.  It determines your views on personal and community health too.

Health is always a hot topic, but it’s especially so in view of the COVID-19 pandemic our world is experiencing.  The question, “Who is God and what is He like?”  remains the fundamental question all humanity should be asking whether they realize it or not.

We can’t explore the fullness of God’s identity and character in a short article, but we can certainly summarize the basics in an effort to encourage people of the world to find their salvation in Him.

God Is the Creator of the Universe
Put away your “But what about” and “I don’t believe in God” arguments for 2 minutes and consider two thoughts:

1) The complexity and immensity of the universe requires a Sovereign Designer and the First Cause of all effects.

2) The desire for morality and justice among all human societies requires a Holy Lawgiver.

These two thoughts shouldn’t be dismissed too quickly.  If God is indeed the Creator of all and Holy Lawgiver, this means He’s the Creator of the macro and micro stuff to whom we will be held morally accountable.

Macro Is All the “Big” Stuff
God created the earth and its vast beauty, all the planets, the countless solar systems, and untold billions of stars filling untold billions of galaxies (Gen.1:1-31; Ps.33:6).  The universe is complex and huge!

Micro Is All the “Small” Stuff
God created all the “tiny” stuff too (Gen.1:1-31).  Think of all the tiny particles of sand and dust on the earth.  Think of all the particles of space dust throughout the universe.  Think of all the protons, electrons, neutrons, and even the smallest things we know of thus far, subatomic particles.  Ironically, all the “big” stuff is made up of the “small” stuff.

And then there’s the living creatures.  He created humans and animals, which are tiny compared to most things in the universe.  Even smaller, He created the insects; smaller yet, the earth worms and parasites; smallest of all (that we know about!) the bacteria and viruses.

COVID-19 is part of God’s Creation
No matter how you stack it, coronavirus is one of many microscopic lifeforms created by God.  The question we naturally ask usually goes something like this: “What is God up to in ordaining (or “allowing” if you prefer) this virus to spread, killing some and disrupting the lives of all?”  This is no easy question, but let’s try to answer it as simply as possible.

1)  All suffering and death is the result of man’s sin against God.
Adam and Eve sinned against God, and they immediately experienced spiritual death (Gen.3:1-19).  Spiritual death is the severing of man’s relationship with God and puts man under God’s righteous wrath.  All people since Adam have inherited Adam’s sin nature, meaning we are natural born sinners (Rom.5:12-14; 1 Cor.15:20-22).  Yes, all acts of sin are by our choice; but all our acts of sin are also the result of our inner sin-nature that wants what it wants when it wants it whether it’s right or wrong to want it (Matt.5:21-30; 15:10-20; Rom.1:24-32).

2)  Suffering and death are God’s gracious warnings to prepare us to meet Him in eternity.
In the case of a dangerous viral infection like COVID-19, God is “speaking” loud and clear: “If a virus can do this to ‘self-reliant’ humanity, how much more helpless is humanity before Me, your all-powerful Creator.”  Human suffering and death are God’s gracious opportunity for us to repent of our sin and come back to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ because suffering and death on this earth are nothing compared to the eternal Hell we will face for living in personal rebellion against our Holy Creator.

3)  The only proper response to the reality of suffering and death is repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Whether Christians or not, people tend to respond to suffering and death with one of two errors.  One, “Those suffering and dying deserved what they got, but not me or the people I love.”  Two, “No one deserves to suffer and die.”

But Jesus gives us the only accurate understanding of the truth about suffering and death in Luke 13.

Luke 13:1-5—There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (ESV)

As in the case of Pilate, some suffering and death is the result of wicked men (Lk.13:1-2).  As in the case of the Siloam Tower, some suffering and death is the result of “natural” disasters (Lk.13:4).  In both cases, there’s only one right interpretation of and response to such events by ALL people—Repentance.  Jesus is clear, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk.13:3, 5).

Don’t hear this language of repent as all negative.  It’s actually positive because God loves you and me enough to warn us about the consequences of our sin and is giving us an opportunity to believe on Jesus.  And you’ll know you’ve become a believer when you have a love for Jesus that includes a love for obeying His Word (the Bible) with an obedience that’s by God’s grace through faith (Eph.2:8-10).

So, whether you’re a Christian or not, let’s all examine our lives and repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ fully.  Only then can we face this life’s suffering and death with hope and peace.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Jeremy Vanatta

coping with fear, death, eternal destiny, suffering