9 Sept 2020
In my interaction with many during this covid-19 pandemic, individuals (Christians and Non-Christians) have queried, “Why does not God interfere and bring an end to all the deaths and sufferings?”Besides many scriptural passages, I find a quotation by C.S. Lewis very insightful:
“I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks onto the stage, the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then,when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else – something it never entered your head to conceive – comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us this chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it”.
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life”.
The Word became flesh, identified with humanity, took our place on the cross and gave us a chance to be right with God if we repent and believe.
Which side are we on? It is the reality that counts! It does not mean that because our parents are believers and we are church-goers that we are on the right side. It does not mean that we are ‘active’ in church and participate in all the recognised activities that we are accepted before God.It is time to consider soberly what is the reality of our spiritual state before God.