My Thoughts

What If

US Military Hospital Ship, Mercy
photo by FEMA.gov

What if this coronavirus is the beginning of the end? Not the end of the world. And not the end of civilization. But the end of things as we know it. What if this is the end of the economy as we know it? Or what if everything goes back to the way they were before this virus was even known? And I mean everything! Over the years I have noticed that when people go through hardship or time of great worry, they will often turn to God. But sadly they don’t stay.

Many years ago I was stationed on a United States Coast Guard cutter in Alaska. One day because of a physic, many of us thought our ship would sink in the Bering Sea. We sought out the only Christian we knew, to learn about God. To hopefully get right with God. But once the threat was over, almost everyone went back to the life they lived before.

September 11, 2001 terrorist flow airplanes into New York’s World Trade Center. Killing a lot of people. Almost everyone was worried and scared. People started talking life and death. It was the prefect time for us Christians to tell people about Jesus. But after awhile everybody went back to their normal activities. But what is interesting, sin increased. More theft. More murder. Killing both adults and kids, and even the unborn. Proverbs 6:16-17 says:
There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
No one is more innocent than the unborn.

Some of the other sins are sexual. Romans 1:26-27 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
I know many people will say this is OK because Jesus never talked about it. But Jesus never talked about rape, either. I hope you won’t say that’s OK.

But I believe the worse sin is mocking God. He doesn’t like that. More and more people are mocking God.

But what if other things are happening? What if Luke 21:11 is happening?
There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
Jesus said this when he was talking about the end. Not the end of all time, just things as we know it before He comes.

Who would have guessed that COVID-19 would affect my phone?

It will get bad. I do believe things will ease up for a little while, but then the next bad thing will happen. I do believe it will be worse and will affect things in ways we would have never guessed.

What if when a nation sins enough, that God decides to destroy that nation? What if God hates the sins I mentioned above, as well as other sins? What if one sin can separate us from God forever? Once you sin, that’s it. You are a sinner. And everyone has sinned. Even you and even me. A sinner that is not right with God and will suffer eternal punishment.

But what if there is a loophole? A loophole created by God Himself, only because He loves you? John 3:16 says For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Jesus died for us. He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. But three days later He rose again to life! In fact, we just celebrated Him raising from the dead with Easter.

When we put our faith, our trust in Jesus, knowing He died for our sins, and that He rose again from the dead on the third day, this is the only way we can be forgiven. This is the only way to get right with God. This is the only way to live with the Lord after death. There is no ‘what if’ about it.