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Monday, 24. January 2005

Did God Drown in the Tsunami?

by J. Randal Matheny

When thousands of people perish in natural disasters like the tsunami that hit Asia on 26 December 2004, questions naturally arise. Why did this happen? Was this a direct punishment from God? If so, who was he punishing? And why? How could God allow such evil in the world as this, if he is loving and all-powerful? Does the presence of such bad things mean that God is not real?

For many centuries people have asked such questions. They are not new, although they become new to us when we see people suffer from natural disasters or when we ourselves are affected by them.

Our Assurance Is Shaken

Above all, such questions do not reflect badly upon the limits or deficiencies of God, but upon our own finiteness and inability to comprehend the greater issues of the universe. Science is helpless at such moments, human thoughts fail, man cannot even sense the arrival of the tsunami like so many animals that fled the low-lying areas hours before it made shore. For all our efforts, we are at the mercy of a world careening toward destruction. The movie that shows man saving his world from a meteor is not only fiction, but fantasy.

Many lives were lost in the tsunami, and we feel deeply ourselves our vulnerability, but God did not drown in the tsunami! What died in the waves were our assurance that life goes on as normal and our belief that today will be just like yesterday. We must confess that we do not know what will happen nor why many things happen. God's ways and purposes are beyond us. "The secret things belong to the Lord our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29, NASB). Through Isaiah, the Lord reminds us, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9).

But there is still sense to be made from the tsunami.

Sometimes God Explained

If God were to speak from Heaven and say, "I am doing this for this reason," we would know. Sometimes God did reveal that he was the immediate cause of a disaster. The Bible says that "the Lord hurled a great storm on the sea" when Jonah fled from his presence (Jonah 1:4). The Lord was directly behind the storm, with a specific purpose for causing it.

Likewise, through the prophecy of Joel, the Lord foretold that he would send a plague of locusts as punishment for the sins of Jerusalem and Judah (Joel 1:1-20). When God reveals his mind, then we may know! As the latter part of Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "... but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law."

But God rarely identifies a natural diaster or occurrence with a special purpose of his.

No Special Meaning

Jesus said that, among other things, "there will be famines and earthquakes" (Matthew 24:7), but that these would not be signs of the end or of any immediate activity of God which would deserve the attention of the disciples. "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs" (v. 8). So "for Jesus all these things were merely preliminary" (Jack P. Lewis, The Gospel According to Matthew, Part II [Sweet, 1976], p. 122).

This means that Jesus' followers could not tie the famines and earthquakes to the direct action of God or to some purpose of his in history. Perhaps he was the immediate cause of a certain natural ocurrence, which had behind it a divine reason, but it was not something that humans could discern or with which they should be concerned, in terms of God's history of redemption.

How, then, should we consider the natural disasters that happen?

When We Suffer

If they happen to us, we should consider that the suffering and damage we have experienced are not a punishment from God, but they are a sign that this world has been injured by man's sin and our planet has been "subjected to futility" and "groans" in its present state (Romans 8:19-22). In this state, even innocents will suffer. The earth convulses because it will be destroyed, "being reserved for fire," ... "and the earth and its works will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:7,10).

Aside from the immediate physical and emotional needs that may arise from an earthquake, tsunami, volcano, flood, famine or other natural ocurrence, we must consider that the Earth is destined to be destroyed. The destruction we have witnessed, the suffering which we have experienced, is but a prelude to the final and definitive end of this world. We must prepare for eternity! If we live but for this world, woe to us! (Compare 1 Corinthians 15:19.)

If I have sought for God and obeyed his gospel, in the final day "this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:54). With faith in God and hope of receiving a "kingdom which cannot be shaken" (Hebrews 12:28), we may say with all confidence and courage:

"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride." (Psalm 46.1-3)

When Others Suffer

If they happen to others, our first concern should be to offer aid. This has been the response of many around the world, and this is right and proper. When Agabus prophesied in Antioch of a world-wide famine, that church, instead of debating the problem of evil or the why of natural disasters, immediately decided to help the Christians affected in Judea. "And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea" (Acts 11:29). So they fulfilled the spirit of Paul's exhortation, "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Galatians 6:10).

The greatest good we may do, of course, is to point others to the need for salvation beyond this life. Every opportunity should be taken to preach the gospel and share the blessed hope of eternal life with God. When the foundations of life are shaken, we may rightfully point to the arrival of the new heaven and new earth, where "there is no longer any sea" (Revelation 21:1). Every source of evil will be banished, and thus every reason for crying and sorrow will vanish (v. 4).

God did not drown in the tsunami, nor did the waves wash away our hope. On the contrary, it proved once again the brevity of life, the fragility of our world, and the solidity of our faith in the God who loves and offers much more in eternal bliss.

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Sunday, 23. January 2005

Traditions: Good or Bad?

by Jimmy Jividen

To one person, religious traditions stimulate warm secure feelings. They are cherished, time-honored customs and a part of his religious heritage. He can sing with reverence: "Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death!"

To another person traditions bind religious beliefs and practices no longer relevant in our time. They are despised and should be discarded.

How should we regard traditions? Can we separate the good from the bad? The Scriptures speak of both kinds.

The religious traditions of men are bad. They do not come from God and must not be bound upon men. Jesus said that such traditions "invalidate the word of God" (Matthew 15:6).

Anything bound as religious law, or anything practiced as religious ritual that does not come from the authority of Christ in the Scriptures should be regarded as a tradition of men. Christ does not sanction it, and His church must not bind it as law. These traditions of convenience or opinion would include whether or not to have church buildings, whether to use song books or to sing from hymns projected to a screen, whether to stand during prayer or to sit or kneel, and other such practices that can change with the times and circumstances.

On the other hand, religious traditions coming from apostolic authority are good. They come from God and are binding on men. These traditions are revealed in Scripture and exemplified by the apostles (2 Thessalonians 3:6,7). Paul encouraged Christians to... "stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us" (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

It is by these apostolic traditions that we know how to obey, worship, and serve God. We in the 21st century who desire to follow Jesus should examine our traditions to see if they are from God or man.

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Saturday, 22. January 2005

Today

by Michael E. Brooks

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today' ... Today, if you will hear his voice ..." (Hebrews 3:13,15).

I am currently in the process of purchasing tickets and confirming schedules for yet another trip to South Asia. Dates must be fixed, times of departure and arrival determined, and arrangements made. This is done several weeks or even months in advance of the beginning of the trip. It is an essential part of the planning, yet I cannot help but remember James' admonition against arrogant assumption of the future.

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'" (James 4:13-15).

James does not condemn planning. Rather, he reminds us to remember that we do not control the future, and we must always submit to the one who does. As we recognize this truth, however, we also realize that we do have control (at least in some senses) of one particular period of time –- the present. Whatever we do is always done now -– today. The past cannot be revisited or altered. The future cannot be guaranteed. Only the present is ours to use.

The Hebrew writer calls upon us to encourage and teach others today (Hebrews 3:13). The Psalmist commands us to hear God and obey his word today (Psalm 95:7). Paul says, "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

There is a critical difference between planning for the future and putting things off for another "more convenient" time (cf Acts 24:25). There is also a great difference between providing for the future and assuming it will surely come. As Christians, and as wise people, we must choose the first of each alternative and avoid the second. Act today, before all opportunity ceases. Submit to God and pray to him for tomorrow.

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Friday, 21. January 2005

Stay Longer

by Tim Hall

Television camera crews are packing up and heading for home. Newspaper reporters are checking out of their hotel rooms. The story of the tsunami disaster is old news and no longer occupies the front page. Only a few will remain behind to help those whose lives have been uprooted. These are the ones whose care is deep and genuine.

It happens hundreds of times each day on a smaller scale. Homes are visited by death and lives are ripped asunder. For a few days, a flurry of activity takes place. Friends call, visit, prepare meals, order flowers, and even attend the funeral. But when the deceased is laid to rest, then what? Have all of the needs been provided for? Or will someone still come by a week or a month later to bring comfort to a lonely widow? Those whose care is genuine will be there.

On the road to Emmaus, two disciples were comforted by the wise words of the stranger they had met. He opened to them the words of Moses and all the prophets in ways they had not considered. But their hearts yearned for more. "Abide with us," they pleaded, "for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent" (Luke 24:29, NKJV). And, true to his nature, Jesus "went in to stay with them."

People can be so thoughtless, so shallow with their concern. Yes, we appreciate their visit at the funeral home, but how we need their companionship weeks later! Is there no one who will stay longer?

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). What a friend we have in Jesus! Brief pop-in visits are not his style; he prefers to move in to be our constant companion. He is there when the first wave of disaster strikes, and he will be there as we mop up our lives. "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

If we have benefited from the abiding presence of Jesus in our lives, should we not also strive to model that to those around us? When they see our Lord moving us to unexpected kindness and faithfulness, will they not see his glory?

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Thursday, 20. January 2005

Seed

by Mike Benson

If I planted Big Boy tomato seeds in my garden in the early Spring, I should expect to reap Big Boy tomatoes in the summer, right? Tomato seeds will not produce cucumbers, cantaloupes, okra, corn, beans, onions, spinach, or potatoes. They will only produce after their own kind (Genesis 1:11,12; Galatians 6:7). This same principle is true in religion.

When the apostles "planted" the seed/word (Luke 8:11) of God into the fertile hearts of sinful men (1 Corinthians 3:6), what kind of crop did they harvest (1 Peter 1:23; Acts 11:26)? Did they sow the same seed and yet reap radically different crops? Did they reap religious diversity? Did they reap different religious groups, who wore different names, and who worshiped God in different ways? Did they reap corn, beans, and Big Boy tomatoes (1 Corinthians 1:13)?

Think about it.

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