9 Notable Quotes from Coronavirus and Christ

This article is part of the Notable Quotes series.

Christ, the Solid Rock

We are fragile and so is the world that we live in. The only firm foundation we can have—in a climate that is easily thrown by sin and sickness—is Christ. The following quotes are from Coronavirus and Christ by John Piper.

“Playing the odds provides little hope. It is not a firm place to stand. There is a better way. There is a better place to stand: a Rock of certainty rather than the sand of probabilities.”

“Hope is power. Present power. Hope keeps people from killing themselves—now. It helps people get out of bed and go to work—now. It gives meaning to daily life, even locked-down, quarantined, stay-at-home life—now. It liberates from the selfishness of fear and greed—now. It empowers love and risk taking and sacrifice—now.”

“Not one sparrow falls but by God’s plan. Not one virus moves but by God’s plan. This is meticulous sovereignty.”

“No man can comfort our souls in this pandemic the way God can. His comfort is unshakable. It is the comfort of a great, high Rock in the stormy sea. It comes from his word, the Bible.”

“All of us are sinners. No exceptions. We all have exchanged the glory of God’s worth and beauty and greatness for things we enjoy more (Rom. 1:23; 3:23). This is a shameful dishonor to God, whether we feel it or not. We therefore are deserving of punishment. Our dishonoring of God’s glory makes us worthy objects of holy wrath. The Bible says we are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). Which means that God would be holy and righteous to withhold his goodness from us. The coronavirus, therefore, does not point to unholiness or unrighteousness or lack of goodness in God.”

“The coronavirus was sent, therefore, by God. This is not a season for sentimental views of God. It is a bitter season. And God ordained it. God governs it. He will end it. No part of it is outside his sway. Life and death are in his hand.”

“Nothing surprises [God], confuses him, or baffles him. His infinite power rests in the hands of infinite holiness and righteousness and goodness—and wisdom.”

“What God is doing in the coronavirus is showing us— graphically, painfully—that nothing in this world gives the security and satisfaction that we find in the infinite greatness and worth of Jesus.”

“The reason [God] makes calamity the occasion for offering Christ to the world is that the supreme, all-satisfying greatness of Christ shines more brightly when Christ sustains joy in suffering.”


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