I think one of the reasons I stopped writing for those several weeks is because me – a writer! – couldn’t put into words what I thought and how I felt. Sigh.
But my aunt wrote a poem, and reading it just this morning made me realise that *this* is exactly what I’ve been thinking. So I wanted to share it with you, dear Reader. My aunt, a retiree in New Zealand who spent many years of her life as a missionary in Egypt, wrote this on her own response to the COVID-19 lockdown:
***
eThoughts during the Coronavirus Lockdown: (Jeanette Grimmer, 10 May, 2020)
A computer interview I lately came upon
Intrigued me as I learned that John Lennox, Oxford don,
Has in his timely book a certain stance unfurled:
Asking “Where is God in a coronavirus world?”
As all nations face the coronavirus running rife
With no cure yet to keep it from destroying life
We fear, we see our weakness, our mortality,
And think anew on life, its end, and how it’s meant to be.
Some surely will react to this disaster of our day
As the suffering of millions cannot be explained away,
By saying that if a mighty, caring God did this allow;
Then faith that God exists is utmost foolishness, and how!
Some religious folk see our crisis as a judgment from God’s hand
And seek out evidence to prove these events are as he planned;
Say our rebellious deeds have angered God to such extent
That our coronavirus chaos is on sin his punishment.
Yet while Lennox understands why some men hold these views
He makes it plain that as a Christian he chooses to refuse
To react in either way, for as he understands the Holy Book,
The words and life of Jesus Christ afford a whole new look.
For when Jesus Christ was told of the Galileans Pilate killed
He asked if people thought their death a judgment that God willed
Because compared with others their sinful deeds were worse,
Then stated clearly that in fact the truth was the converse.
And Luke records that Jesus chose to question them as well
About the eighteen folk who died when Siloam Tower fell:
“Do you think they were more guilty than others in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no! But now repent, or else you’ll die like them.”
To Jesus tragic life events were not a punishment God sent
On certain wicked men, but these may urge us to repent
Since each of us will one day God’s judgment have to face
And we who have repented will receive abundant grace.
If indeed God loves us, how do we suffering explain?
It is a mystery, and yet we trust He’s with us in our pain,
Jesus suffered on the Cross, He died for me to live forgiven
Therefore I trust my Father God whose love draws me to heaven.
***
Isn’t it beautiful! I love it. And I love her – and am so glad she allowed me to share it on here with you 🙂
Have a trust-filled week yourself, dear Reader.
- KRidwyn