THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

God could have taken King Herod’s life. If He had, it would have been unnecessary for Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt.  But He did not. He let King Herod live on for a few more years before He finally took his life; and all the while Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had to hide in Egypt.  By asking Joseph to flee, God did something so uncharacteristic of God, didn’t He?  Doesn’t He command us to be courageous in facing adversity?  But here He told Joseph to flee, an act that is generally associated with fear.  Christmas forces us to believe what we ought to believe, not what we want to believe. 

Many of you knew Tante Magda Nasir. Her mother, Tante Ani was a member of our church some years ago and a close friend of Tante Lydia.  On last Wednesday, God took Tante Magda home, suddenly and unexpectedly, after contracting Covid-19 just days ago.  We want to believe that God will protect us, His children, from this virus but the fact shows otherwise—He does not always protect us.  Our loved ones’ deaths and illnesses force us to believe what we ought to believe about God—that He does not always use His power.

But sometimes He does use His power.  Last Wednesday Tante Yuni was taken to ER for respiratory distress.  It turned out that there were fluid and blood clot in her lungs, exactly what had happened to her a couple of weeks prior.  While in hospital, she was tested for Covid-19—positive!  Consequently, after her lungs treatment she was discharged and sent back to nursing home where she is now in isolation.  So far, the symptoms have been relatively mild; she has no cough, fever, or difficulty breathing.  She only feels pain all over. God is using His power to protect Tante Yuni but God did not use His power to protect Tante Magda.  Instead, God used this virus to take His beloved child home.  His great power is subject to His good will.

Pastor Paul