"Why Does God Allow The Coronavirus?" 4 Christian Insights (in part) By Dr. Sean McDowell 1) The world is deeply broken. From the beginning of creation and Adam and Eve, the world very quickly gets messed up. Not only is there a broken relationship between God and human beings because of their sin, the physical ground itself is cursed (Genesis 3: 17 - 18). The Apostle Paul reminds us that creation 'groans' and awaits restoration (Romans 8: 19 - 20). Christians should not be surprised by the brokenness of the world, including the existence and spread of deadly viruses. 2) God allows suffering and evil to draw us to eternal things. God does not cause evil. But He does allow it. It is easy to get distracted by the desires and needs of the moment. Yet, if the afterlife is real, God may allow evil and suffering to stir us up to think about the eternal life. 3) Jesus understands our suffering.  He suffered immensely from hunger and stress (Matthew 26:36 - 46). The God of the Bible has not abandoned us to our suffering. He understands when we suffer and empathizes with us. Where is God when we suffer? He is right there suffering with us. 4) Jesus has conquered this world. Sickness, evil, and death do not have the last word. Jesus does. Paul suffered immensely. He was shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, experienced deep hunger and thirst. Yet he refused to lose heart (2 Corinthians 6:4 - 5). Why? Because he knew Jesus had already conquered this world. Paul believed in the resurrection of Jesus and thus refused to grieve without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). "So much more could be said about why God allows suffering and natural evil, nor to offer simple and tidy responses. These are just a couple of insights of how Christians might think about difficult questions."     *****