Thoughts

I wrote this in response to an article in The Atlantic  titled "Some of the Most Visible Christians in American are Failing the Coronavirus Test," found here:  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/christian-cruelty-face-covid-19/610477/?utm_source=digg To Whomever at  The Atlantic  whose eyes this might reach: I was saddened to read Jonathan Merritt's article about the attitudes of Christians about the coronavirus and President Trump. As a Christian in the evangelical world, I can speak for many when I say that the attitudes Merritt describes are the very ones many Christians are so sensitive about. We are very aware of our sullied reputation among nonbelievers, and many of us do everything in our power to share Christ's love for the world with both our actions and our faith. Merritt admits as much toward the end of his article when he acknowledges that "Most Christians...are trying their best to live a life consistent with their faith...

The mail came late that day, and he was nervous. There weren’t many days on which he anticipated mail as much as today; but this day was different. His pacing would have annoyed anyone had they been with him, and after spending the last hour doing nothing but that, even he began to notice. “I’m too anxious,” he said aloud. “I have to sit down, breathe, clear my head.” He did so, but was up moments later, again anticipating the news that was sure to come. A package dropped to the floor through the mailbox, and as quickly as it had, Jesse picked it up. He tore open the manila envelope with such dramatic violence that any passerby would have thought him angry. In a way, he was. It wasn’t that he particularly needed the justification that he felt a degree in engineering would bring. In fact, he had already proven himself in so many other ways—finding a lucrative job on his own, moving out in his late teens, staying out of debt while buying a home; but to this day, he felt too frequentl...

A plant I saw with withered leaf Whose life drought left in waste Had bowed its weakened stalk in grief, Could rain no longer taste Then, slow, as in degreed consent, It let a kernel fall Releasing all the life it lent From when it still stood tall “My God, my God,” it seemed to say “Why thou forsakest me?” Then as in genuflection lay It broke to be set free Then all of nature seemed to mourn, The sky itself to cry, The rain came down, but life was born, From ground that once sat dry The little kernel’s sprouts were seen Its buds still tender thus For from the death of Life we glean New life that grows in us.