During these unusual times I find myself thinking about The Virus. With so much ignorance and fear surrounding it, I ask these questions:

Did not God create the universe and everything in it?

Did He not find it all to be very good?

Was not the coronavirus then created by God?

Does this virus possibly have some God/good purpose for being here at this time?

Then I think about how we are instructed to behave towards this virus:

Fear it.

Lock it out of everywhere — families, schools, churches, homes, workplaces, parks, recreation venues, social gatherings.

Wash all traces of it away with harsh chemicals.

Hide from it behind a mask.

Never introduce it to anyone.

Yearn for the magic medicine that will eradicate it, our only hope of salvation.

Remove pew cushions, hymnals, and Bibles from churches.

Suspend all singing, by choir and congregation alike.

Forbid all unnecessary human contact and fellowship.

It is my opinion that as a nation, a state, and a church we have not dealt with this virus well. The commands to “Fear not,” “trust in the Lord thy God,” “love your enemy,” “love your neighbor,” should be applied to a virus, too. We should welcome it as a passing stranger, with kindness and care; greet it with the confidence that it, too, is part of God’s creation. There may be a special purpose for its arrival. By treating it with isolation, fear, and destruction are we prompting it to respond with virulence and aggression? If we were to invite it into our lives with care and love, might we prompt it to mutate into a mild form? A biologist-researcher friend told me he believes viruses are necessary for human evolution. I don’t know. What I do know is that if “His eye is on the sparrow,” it most likely is also on the virus. Love triumphs over fear every time. Do we dare try to show love to the virus?