Flu and You

Like one of my favorite theologians, Rosanne Rosanna Dana, used to say "its always something." Truer words were never spoken. Today's something is swine flu. A few years ago there was an avian flu crises. Every year we have to worry about regular flu. When the mosquitoes are bad, like they may be after these recent rains, we have to be aware of equine encephalitis and west Nile virus . ( How do the mosquitoes on the east side of the Nile know not to carry the virus?)Today's pandemic strain of flu virus apparently has some aspects of swine, avian, and human flu. That's why I like dogs, they never give you the flu. When today's "something" hits you, what do you think about God? Is He to blame? Is He punishing society or you in particular for past sins? Is He unaware or just unconcerned about your pain or hurt? It seems that way at times. How can God remain so silent when your hurtful circumstances scream so loudly? Yet, His silence can be deafening. How do you reconcile your beliefs about a loving God with the horror of wars, the seeming arbitrary nature of disease, and the often seen cruelty of man, supposedly made in God's image, to other men? Forget all that big stuff-- where is God when my wife, my kid, my grandchildren, my job, my bills, and my life are squashed by life? I have no easy answer. Allow me to share some mental gymnastics I do to get me through when times I wonder, question God or get down right cussing mad at Him. When going through a tough time I remind myself of these things: His purpose for my life-Jesus' desire is to make me holy, wholly righteous and totally His. My purposes for me are most often less or at least tainted with self-serving thoughts. I must admit that ofttimes I prefer health, wealth, and comfort. If God thinks I need those for Him to make my character to conform to His and have me available to always do His will, then so be it. If He chooses to use something else not as pleasant then I need to learn to trust the Master teacher in His classroom and submit. All those scriptures about being "a living sacrifice," "take up your cross and follow me," "we are counted as sheep for the slaughter," be holy even as I am holy," " He saved us and called us to a holy life," "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to the day of completion," "walk in a manner worthy of your calling," well, guess what? He meant them and will not stop working on, in, and through us until His character and will are formed in us. Remember where you are- you and I live in a fallen world. Since the fall of man in Genesis 3, life has been broken. That doesn't mean it is totally rotten. There is love, joy, laughter, and companionship. There are also spouses, children, grandchildren, ice cream, basketball, Danny's barbecue, and Pam's pie. Slices of heaven for sure. But in this broken world are hatred, fear, loneliness, disease, and pieces of hell all over. We tend to wonder if there is a God since there are these evil things. Couldn't we just as easily say there must be a God or we wouldn't have these wonderful things in life? The fact that the good things from God's grace show up at all is a testament of His love for this world and it's people. Do the math--A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day to the Lord. I checked with Bill McKee an Sara Edwards, a couple of people very much smarter than me on this one for the math. I don't do math. It has numbers in it. (see pieces of hell above) In heaven's time then, twenty minutes is about 13. 8 years. (there are 24 hours in a day---which translates to 1440 minutes in a day. Twenty minutes is 1\72 of a day or 20 divided into 1440. Using the same formula of 1\72, dividing 1000 years by 72 you get 13.88) So I might have to endure something 14 years, maybe even 20 years, it's only 20-30 minutes in heaven time. Surely, you can hang on and hang in for half an hour or so. I seriously don't mean this to be trite and I know that the bible numbers aren't always literal. Our problems can wear us down eventually but I do this heavenly math as a way of gaining perspective. The problems will not persist into eternity, but in Christ you will. Listen to the saints- the truth that we need to hear has probably been addressed by the church in some way or form in history. You are not alone in your struggles. I whine because I've had to bury 300 or so people from my churches. No, none died during my sermons-yet. John Donne ("ask not for whom the bell tolls") buried them by the thousands because of plague. It hurts to lose those you've gotten close to and it messes with the attendance figures. But the truth is that our worst day of saying good-bye to those we love is their best day, the day they were brought to salvation for in Christ. Hear what John Calvin wrote in "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in 1536: "God's sovereign rule cannot be separated from His saving purpose. The providence of God watches for our salvation, even when it most seems to sleep. Just as we find God in the "low places" of this world--a dirty feeding trough in Bethlehem, weary on the road to Jerusalem, and crying in dereliction on the cross-- we trust that He is most present in our lives precisely where He seems most hidden. It makes a tremendous difference in our lives when we trust that the same God who wounds, also heals." Amen, John. Watch Him- When you want to know what God is like and what He is about keep your eyes on Jesus. Don't look at the circumstances of your life to see where God is and what He is up to, look to your Saviour. It is not primarily by your circumstances, but in spite of them that we see God's love and grace. Look always to the cross, there above all our worldly circumstances, good or bad, we see that God loves us. I don't know what might bite you this week- viruses from a pig, a bird or a mosquito (but not a dog), or something more sinister, but this I know, God will never leave you nor forsake you in this world or beyond. And when I forget this myself, would you kindly remind me? Cos