With the release of the COVID-19 vaccines, there came an influx of differing opinions with many disagreements, specifically arising among Christians. I am not writing this to add to the mix of viewpoints and I hope to keep my personal opinion out of this article as much as possible. Instead, I want to share a simple, biblical response to the vaccine issue I believe the Lord has placed on my heart.
Choose Obedience
When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they had a choice to make. They were either going to continue eating from the Tree of Life or they were going to choose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. One tree represented obedience and trust in God; the other tree represented an unhealthy desire for control. I believe we have that same choice today.
The temptation before us is a decision to try to control our lives through knowledge.
It’s easy to think that if we just know enough, we will be able to make the right decisions. Now, I’m not knocking information or knowledge. It is not a sin to read up on something to be informed. Knowledge is important. God gave us minds so we can learn, experiment and discover but as soon as we put our hope in gaining enough knowledge, we are not fully trusting God. The heart behind our pursuit of knowledge matters to God. (See Isaiah 8:12-13 and Proverbs 3:5.)
There were certain things God did not want Adam and Eve to know. Instead, he wanted them to trust Him enough to leave those things to His care. If we have to know everything before we can be at peace, we are trying to take God’s role upon our own shoulders. The problem with assuming His role is that we then have to attempt to carry His responsibility too. Yet, thank God that His grace is always available.
Seek the Holy Spirit’s Counsel
We as Christians should be led more by the Holy Spirit than by our desire for knowledge.
Sadly, sometimes we rely so heavily on what we have learned that we are not able to hear what the Spirit is saying. When it comes to issues like the vaccine, I might be 99 percent right about what I know but if I’m not able to hear what the Spirit is saying, then I’m not allowing Him to shift my perspective on that one percent.
Jesus says in John 14:26 (NASB), “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.”
Jesus clearly desires the Holy Spirit to be the main teacher in our lives.
He should be a greater teacher than the Internet, our friends, and even Christian leaders.
I’m not saying those voices are bad. I’m simply saying the Word and the Spirit should be the loudest voices in our lives.
My prayer is that we as believers in Jesus will reject the desire to control and instead hand control over to the Holy Spirit. Rejecting control means taking time to read the Word, waiting upon the Lord and responding when He speaks. It means prioritizing the secret place.
It is hard to hear God’s voice when we’re anxious and information can only act like a Band-Aid against anxiety; it cannot fix the root problem. True peace is only found through a confident trust in Jesus and resting in what He has done for us on the cross.
I encourage you to make Hebrews 4:16 your plan of action this year. Let us look at the cross, respond to grace and trust that God can lead us better than we can lead ourselves.
Troy Black
Author & Speaker
