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There are some Christian brothers and sisters who are stronger in faith than I am. That stands to reason, since all of us are different, and we respond to things differently, including God. I had a conversation with someone recently, who said they know of some churches that are still congregating despite the coronavirus threat. These folk lean heavenly on the scripture that tells us we weren’t given a spirit of fear. Here’s that scripture in its entirety: II Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Please let me draw your attention to Matthew 4: 7 – Jesus said to him, “It is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.” This response was given by Jesus to the devil when he asked Jesus to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple. He told Jesus to do this, if He was in fact the Son of God. This was a test (dishonest one, of course) the devil was trying to entice Jesus to perform. We all know Jesus had no doubt about the power of His Father, but why should He do something that was undoubtedly not a good show of faith.

Let’s look closely at II Timothy 1:7. It is my opinion, you may have a different one, that many people put the end of this scripture at the wrong punctuation mark. Jesus’ quote didn’t end at FEAR. He went on to say, “…but power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” In the face of the Coronavirus, we all have:  1) the power to do what we can to stop the spread of the deadly attack on humanity; 2) the love of God to show our concern and compassion for our community of believers, by not putting them in harm’s way; and 3) exercising the mechanics of a sound mind, by demonstrating one part of the Triade being God created in us, in His image. God gave us a body, a spirit and a mind. Doesn’t He expect us to use them practically?

If we choose to walk into a tunnel, when a speeding freight train is barreling toward us, can we really expect to pass a test like that considering the entirety of II Timothy 4:7? Are we not putting God to the test, an unnecessary one at that?

I’m old and blessed…hope you will be too.