‘Repent or You will Perish’ — COVID-19 and God’s Gracious Judgments
Posted on May 14, 2020
Filed under COVID19, Evangelism, Theology
“Every death, every disappointment, every illness, any suffering, any frustration, any loss, any regret, any pain that we experience is a gracious judgment of God. And every one of God’s gracious judgments is a message from God, a wake-up call from God. For every one of them:
- reminds us that we live in a fallen world with all its frustrations (Rom 8:18-23);
- reminds us of the sinfulness of humanity and our own sinfulness, and calls us to repent (Luke 13:1-5);
- reminds us not to put our hopes in this world, but to desire to depart and be with Christ (Phil 1:23);
- reminds us to worship God with reverence and awe (Heb 12:26-29);
- reminds us to suffer with Christ now, that we may be glorified with him when he returns (1 Pet 4:12,14);
- reminds us of the priority of evangelism (2 Pet 3:9);
- reminds us that one day we will set aside the ‘earthy tent’ of our body, that we may be ‘further clothed’ in our ‘heavenly dwelling’ (2 Cor 5:1-4);
- reminds us to pray fervently for the return of Christ (Rev 22:20);
- reminds us to set our hope fully on the grace that Christ will bring us when he returns (1 Pet 1:13);
- reminds us that one day we will face the judgment of God and of Christ (Rev 20:12, 2 Cor 5:10);
- reminds us of the future glories of the new Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb (Rev 21,22).
Are not each of these messages that we desperately need today? These gracious judgments can equally well be described as ‘severe mercies’. …”
– Read and share the whole article by Peter Adam at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
(Photo: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)
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