I Don't Think So

I was skimming the news online this week when a headline grabbed my attention. It said "God has a lot to answer for." It is an opinion piece on CNN from Arnold M. Eisen, the chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here is the opening sentence of the piece:

"My father, a good and pious man who thanked God every morning for the gift of another day, would have said -- were he alive right now -- that God has a lot to answer for."

Eisen then goes on to talk about several things related to COVID-19, including the impact on, and opportunities for, religious communities because of the pandemic. But one thing religious communities and religious people have no right to expect, let alone demand, is that God provide us with answers.

Of all the distinctions in the Bible perhaps the most fundamental is that God is holy and we, all humans throughout all history, are most certainly not. God's holiness means that He is absolutely perfect, absolutely flawless, in every possible way that we could think of.

He is perfect in beauty. Perfect in power. Perfect in knowledge. Perfect in wisdom. Perfect in mercy. Perfect in judgment. Perfect in kindness. Perfect in grace. Perfect in glory. Perfect in righteousness. The list goes on. In my opinion the sum total of all of God's perfections are found in His holiness.

Because God is holy, nothing that He does, and also nothing that He allows to happen, is wrong, or incorrect, in any way. There are many times we don't understand how or why things happen in the world, but that does not mean that we can call God to task and demand an explanation. We, as created beings, have no right to make demands on our Creator. In the Bible this truth is made clear in Job 38-41. (Here is a link to an excellent series on Job, which is free through the end of June.)

Like so many others there are many things I don't understand about this pandemic, questions I would like answers to. I have personally known two people who have died of COVID-19 infections and have prayed for others who are seriously ill. But perhaps the most important question I could ask God, one for which I could presume that He would answer, is this one: 

Today Lord, how can I best serve you in the place where I am at?