COVID-19 Series: #7—There, but for the grace of God, go I

19 Pastoral Thoughts On COVID-19

“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:9–10).

Today, Rev. Pukuta Mwanza was being buried. I was with him in the school of mines at the University of Zambia in the early 1980s. He had also answered God’s call to the pastoral ministry and had even reached the highest level of leadership among evangelical in Zambia until he lost his fight with cancer. Why was it not you or me lying cold in that coffin today?

In these days of COVID-19, this thought should not be too far from our minds. This week, we heard that the Ministry of Health has recorded the first Zambian to die of COVID-19. He had caught the virus while on a trip to South Africa. Why him and not you or me?

There can only be one answer: The sovereign grace of God that is greater than all our sin. We have all long forfeited the right to life because of our sin. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” Let us remember that some who have died from COVID-19 around the world took precautions but still got the virus. Ultimately, each time we hear of a death caused by any means—including coronavirus—we should say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

As we take precautionary measures, let us be thankful for each day that God gives us. Let us rededicate our lives to God, as the apostle Paul did, so that we can say with him, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain.”

“Sin and despair like the sea waves cold,

Threaten the soul with infinite loss;

Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,

Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin.”

—Julia H Johnston (1849–1919)