Who Goes There?

is it a friend or a foe?

Scripture Reading: James 1

The WWII military sentry, upon hearing the approach of an unknown, would famously call out, “Who goes there, friend or foe?” Covid-19 has been labeled “the invisible enemy.” No doubt, it is that. But could it, in some way, also be our friend?

I am not suggesting it is good in and of itself. No, it is a part of the fallen condition of this world. A cog in the curse. What I am saying is that God is gracious and for our sakes uses evil for good. James had the idea when he exhorted us to count our trials as joy because those trials of our faith work to change us in ways that an untried life can never do.

C.S. Lewis wrote of pain, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

The answer to the question, “friend or foe?” is not as simple as choosing one or the other. It can be both. It can be a foe who in the end has been an unwitting friend. If we are humbled, if we become repentant, if we turn to God in prayer, if we seek him, if we become more kind, more merciful, more loving toward our neighbors, if we learn to complain less about what we lack and become more thankful for what we have, if we become more aware of the needs of others and less focused on our wants, if we loosen our grip on the things of this world and fix our eyes on the kingdom of God then Covid-19 will indeed have served as a friend as well as a foe.