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What Is God Doing through the Coronavirus?
BRIGHTNESS IN THE DARKNESS OF DANGER
Jesus has just said, “Blessed are you when others revile you
and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
is great in heaven” (Matt. 5:11–12). Then, without a break,
he says, “You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light
of the world” (Matt. 5:13–16).
It is not mere good deeds that give Chris tian ity its tang
and luster. It is good deeds in spite of danger. Many non-
Christians do good deeds. But seldom do people give glory
to God because of them.
Yes, the danger in Matthew 5 was persecution, not disease.
But the principle holds. Deeds of love in the context of
danger, whether disease or persecution, point more clearly
to the fact that these deeds are sustained by hope in God.
For example, Jesus says:
When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot
repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of
the just. (Luke 14:13–14)
Hope in God beyond death (“you will be repaid at the
resurrection”) sustains and empowers good deeds that hold
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