Why would God create COVID-19? Well, God did and God didn’t.

Life as we know it on planet earth would be impossible without bacteria. Bacteria in our guts helps us digest foods. Bacteria creates soil for plants. However, there is so much bacteria and it reproduces so quickly that if it were not kept in check, bacteria would take over everything and make all other life impossible. 

Along come the viruses. A virus is a piece of genetic material (either DNA or RNA) encased in a protein shell. A virus cannot reproduce on its own. It has to invade a cell and hijack that cell’s machinery in order to reproduce. There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 10³¹viruses on planet earth. That’s more than the number of stars estimated to be in the universe. 

The vast majorities of those viruses are not only harmless to humans and animals, but are beneficial. The majority of viruses never invade people, animals or plants – they invade bacteria. Without the viruses, bacteria would overrun all other life. Thank God for viruses.

But, of course, there is a small minority of viruses that make people sick. Some of them can kill you. Those are the ones we hear about. Where did they come from?

God created the physical universe using a method of evolution via natural selection. Creation is free by God’s design to develop. Originally, all God created was perfectly good and there was nothing created that would harm, hurt, or cause illness. Then, two rebellions occurred.

The first was the rebellion of some of the angelic beings God created with freewill. They wanted to be gods, fell, and became satanic principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. The devil is the satan, the accuser, who goes about seeking to destroy and kill. That rebellion apparently happened long before God created the physical universe, as we know it. 

When God created the earth, it was entirely good – there was nothing in it that would harm or kill. Nature is God’s temple. God crowned creation with humans who bear God’s image and placed them in God’s temple/garden with the instructions to expand Eden until it filled the entire world, and to guard it from the Destroyer.

The humans failed to do so. They allowed the Destroyer into God’s garden, God’s temple, nature, and, when they did, death and destruction infected the system. Its affects are visible everywhere – killer storms, xenophobia, war, poverty, racism, and killer viruses such as COVID-19. Don’t blame God. Don’t blame China, or “foreigners,” or the government. Blame Satan. 

Or, don’t blame at all. This is an opportunity to act, not to find fault. Yes, here in the United States, our federal governmental officials knew of this threat in plenty of time to make sure we were ready with enough ventilators and personal protective equipment like masks, face-shields, gloves and gowns. And yes, they chose instead to minimize, distort, lie, and use inside trading to enrich themselves. Nevertheless, they did not cause COVID-19.

This isn’t a time for blame. This is a time to act. 

This is a time for us who follow Jesus to love our neighbors enough to isolate ourselves (because COVID-19 spreads by human contact), wash our hands frequently (because COVID-19 can be killed by soap and water), and sanitize surfaces (because COVID-19 lives on things we touch). We do these things so we don’t make our neighbors sick. 

This is a time to check on our neighbors and see if they need food or medicine. 

This is a time to be especially diligent in caring for the homeless, the incarcerated, the addicted, the mentally ill, the sick, the dying, and those who love them. 

This is a time to pray for and support our nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians, surgeons, paramedics, hospital chaplains, and those who clean our hospital rooms.

This is a time to spread God’s love and care, to remind others that with God there is no fear even in the valley of the shadow of death. This is a time for phone calls, texts, emails, and old-fashioned letters. This is a time for prayer. 

A Prayer for Such a Time as This

Abba, Father, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Israel, perfect Triune God who is love, wrap your strong divine loving arms around the least – around the poor, the broken, the homeless, the refugee fleeing violence and poverty, the victims of cruel public policy, of xenophobia, racism, ageism, prejudice, misogyny, Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and homophobia; the victims of war, violence and hatred; the lonely, the mentally ill, the sick, the dying, the incarcerated. Wrap your strong loving arms around the caregivers, the family members, the nurses, respiratory therapists, surgeons, physicians, hospital chaplains, paramedics, first responders, and all those who care for those in need. Speak directly to the hearts of the fearful, the lonely, the sick, the confused, the dying, even to the hearts of the comatose who can nevertheless hear your voice – communicate to the souls of all in need your unconditional love, mercy, and grace; comfort as only you can; whisper forgiveness, assure of life and love everlasting. When we pray, “give us this day our daily bread,” this is what we mean. Grant it O, Lord, for Jesus’ sake who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, our God. Amen.