Book Review: Corovavirus and Christ by John Piper

There is a lot going on right now, so this review will be brief. As we are all aware we are currently in the middle of a pandemic, or at least what I hope is the near end of the pandemic. So much has happened in the past two months, that it’s hard to put into words.

Because of the lockdown in New York, I have been working from home for a little over 2 months. I rarely leave my home and when I do it’s only to walk the dog. Going outside is a weird feeling, it’s as if we are living in Bizarro world, barely anyone is out and if they are, they are wearing masks.

Most people avoid walking on the same sidewalk as us, (possibly because our dog looks aggressive, but really she’s a sweetie who just loves smelling and jumping on people) but also because people are afraid to come into close contact with any other humans. I can only imagine how strange things will be when the city reopens. 

I began to read Coronavirus and Christ by John Piper, at the height of the pandemic, when the death tolls were in the thousands on a daily basis. I watched Gov. Cuomo almost everyday religiously just to keep up with what was going on. This book’s release was very timely. As I read through it, I was both informed and reassured that there is nothing outside of God’s control. I am a strong believer in God’s sovereignty and this book went into various reasons for the virus, many of which revolved around the sovereignty of God.

Although I was receiving bad news on what seemed like a daily basis, this book brought peace to my mind, until I didn’t, but it wasn’t the book’s fault I lost my peace of mind. A little over half way through the book, I was informed that a family member of mine was admitted to the hospital and that the doctors didn’t believe they would come out alive. Although I know God is sovereign, I was wrestling with the thought of my ill family member. 

About a week later, the doctor’s words became true, my aunt passed away due mainly to the virus. It’s a bit hard to write this because it is still recent, but I want to share my heart with you, because I think it might help give a different perspective. Now I have mentioned many times that I am a strong believer of God’s sovereignty, but at the time I found out, I was shaken.

I was sad and overwhelmed. You see, I knew my aunt was unsaved and I was struggling with the thought that she did not go to heaven. I do hope that in her last days she may have contemplated the gospel that was shared with her through the years by my mother and grandmother, and that she repented and was saved, but that is a mystery I will not know the answer to for some time. 

Of course I still feel sad, but trusting in God and his sovereignty has helped me. 

In this book John Piper gives many reasons for the virus, one being that God is showing what sin looks like, just in a form we are not used to. We know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but we aren’t always able to see the weight of sin as we can now, with the virus. We know that there will be a second coming and that the earth groans waiting eagerly for Christ’s return, this is just one example of this. 

Things may look grim but we know who we have believed and we know He is faithful to keep us. I finished the book about a week after the bad news, the book helped me see again where my faith is rooted, and who my foundation is. God is in control of everything, even this virus, even all the bad things going on, everything is in His hands. I know that this virus has brought many to Christ, and the gospel was shared continually throughout this difficult time. God works in all situations, let us remember where our faith is. 

Check out the book for yourself, I tried to be vague because I do want you to check it out. I got a free copy from Crossway.org, they also have the audiobook available for free, you can find that here. A physical copy of the book was released and you can purchase it here. I would recommend this book to anyone, or any age, believer or non-believer, it helped put our current situation into perspective and I think you would enjoy it and learn from it. 

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”