Over the past several months, we have witnessed
extraordinary natural disasters in this country and abroad. Major earthquakes have occurred in various
places, most recently in Mexico. Floods
and wildfires appear to be everyday events now, and the southeastern U.S. is
reeling from the double-punch of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
But, to quote the double-rainbow guy (see You Tube video
here), “what does this mean?” It seems everyone has a different
interpretation.
Some people have expressed the certainty that these
natural disasters are God’s judgment on America, although their
American-centric view omits the regular occurrence of natural disasters in
other parts of the world (for example, the current famine in Africa that has
largely been ignored in the West). These
judgment-pronouncers point to the current cultural and moral climate in America
and stand on their soap-box and proclaim that what we are seeing is nothing
less than God’s judgment in response to America’s sins.
While I agree that the sins of America are many and that
our country has drifted a long way from its original Christian foundations, I
do not believe these natural disasters are a sign of God’s judgment, any more
than 9-11 was a sign of God’s judgment.
In Luke 13 Jesus’ disciples ask Him about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mixed with his pagan sacrifices. Was it because they were worse sinners than
others? No, Jesus said. They were not worse sinners, no more so than
those in Siloam who were killed when a tower fell on them. This was not God’s judgment upon them as a
result of their individual sins because all.have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God. All deserve judgment, not
just these select few, but God has withheld His judgment on sinners so that
salvation and redemption might come through His Son. God “desires all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
Therefore, Jesus replies, “I tell you...unless you repent, you too will
all perish” -- you, too, will suffer the wrath and judgment of God.
The assertion that the recent natural disasters are signs
of God’s judgment on the United States is simply not supported by
Scripture. God’s judgment will come, but
not yet. It will come when Jesus returns,
at the end of the age, after all have had an opportunity to respond to God’s
grace through Christ.
For a more detailed analysis of the reasons why these
natural disasters are not a sign of God’s judgment, read Allan Bevere’s post
here.
So, if these natural disasters are not God’s judgment,
what do they mean and what should be our response as Christians?
First, we need to consider the fact that they may mean
nothing at all. They may simply be part
of the natural world that God created, and they may be part of His plan for the
normal functioning of environmental processes.
Natural disasters have always occurred, from the beginning of creation
until now. Hurricanes are not a recent phenomenon. Floods and earthquakes have always
occurred. Wildfires are a normal part of
the ecosystem processes. In fact, in the
southeastern U.S., the longleaf pine forests are termed “fire dependent,” and
rely on the periodic return of wildfires, to include catastrophic wildfires, in
order to maintain their existence on the landscape. In the absence of wildfire, the longleaf pine
forests and all its dependent flora and fauna would disappear, to be replaced
by an oak-dominated ecosystem.
That said, I do believe the intensity and destruction
associated with these natural disasters are not part of God’s original plan of
creation. I do believe they were part of
His original plan, but not with the intensity nor frequency we are currently
experiencing, and certainly not with the concurrent destruction and devastation. I contend that they are a result of living in
a fallen world, one which has deviated from God’s original plan and order
because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
Assuming the Garden of Eden represented God’s perfect
order in terms of His Creation, then as sin corrupted and impacted this
paradise, we would expect to see conditions worsen the farther from the origin
we go. In other words, the greater the
distance from the original point of creation, the greater the effect of sin
displayed in terms of intensity and magnitude and consequence. These natural disasters look worse now
because they are -- not as a result of God’s judgment -- but as a consequence
of how far Creation has fallen from God’s original plan. Hence, the need for redemption.
I think Jesus pointed to this when He talked in Matthew 24
in the Olivet Discourse about the birth pains associated with the signs of the
end of the age. Jesus told His disciples
to not be deceived, that there would be wars and rumors of wars, but not to be
alarmed. There would be natural
disasters (earthquakes and famines) in various places, but to not be
worried. “These would be the beginning
of the birth pains.”
Jesus’ comment about the birth pains has been interpreted
to mean that as the end of the age approached, these signs would increase in
intensity and magnitude and duration, just as the birth pains of a woman
increase as the time for the birth approaches.
Thus, natural disasters will continue to occur, and as time goes by, we
can expect to see them occurring more and more frequently and with greater
duration and intensity. They may mean
nothing more than that we live in a fallen world, far from the original
paradise of God, a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
Secondly, while these natural disasters are certainly not
a judgment from God, they may be a means of God’s grace. Natural disasters are just
that...disasters. And when they occur,
people’s lives are impacted in so many negative ways. Homes and material possessions are
destroyed. Lives are taken, both as a
direct result of the disaster and indirectly through the associated hardships
of illness and lack of basic necessities (food, water, and shelter). Disasters are horrible events.
But, in the midst of the horribleness of the disaster,
God’s grace and mercy is made manifest.
Just as a light shines brightest on the darkest of days, God’s grace
shines forth in the midst of human suffering and calamity. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in
our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His
megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
While I do not believe God desires this suffering or sent
these natural disasters as judgment, I do believe He redeems their occurrence
by pouring out His grace into the lives of those affected (See Romans 8:28). His goodness and love and mercy can be seen
and felt through the hands of those ministering to those affected by the storm,
by the sacrificial love shown to those who suffer. Looking in the news and on social media, you
can see story after story of how God’s grace touched the lives of people during
and after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. We
saw the same with Hurricane Katrina and in the flooding in the midwest several
years ago. We saw it during the tsunami
in 2004 and during 9-11.
God’s grace shines forth in the darkness to bring hope
and life to a people searching for help in the aftermath of a disaster. And, our response to these disasters should
not be to point our finger at others and condemn their sins, but to reach out
in love and care and help those affected when and where we can. If not in person, then financially and
through our prayers. Christian are
called to be the hands and feet of Christ in this world, and the church is
called to be His redemptive agent on earth, to share the good news of Christ in
physical and tangible ways through the direct application of His love to
others. Certainly, we should share the
good news of Christ with those who do not know Him, but the hurting cannot hear
until their basic needs are met, and the message should come through love, not
condemnation or judgment.
Finally, while these natural disasters are certainly not
God’s judgment on sinners, I do believe they represent His clarion call for
repentance. These natural disasters are
used by God to call out to a wayward world to come home, to return to Him, to
come to His Son Jesus through repentance to receive redemption and
salvation. Jesus makes the point in the
Olivet Discourse that “when you see all these things, you know that it is near,
right at the door.” These signs, and the
frequency and the intensity of these signs, are flashing warnings that the end
is ever near, that our physical death might come at any time, that our days on
this earth are numbered.
The ancient philosophers spoke of “Memento Mori,” a Latin
phrase meaning, “do not forget that you will die.” None of us will live forever. All of us will pass from this life into the
next. And remembering our imminent
death, remembering our sins, calls us to come to Christ for salvation and
redemption. The early church adopted the
concept of Memento Mori as a reflection on mortality and a reminder to focus on
eternity and the things of God rather than on the temporal pleasures and
treasures this world advertises. Natural
disasters are used by God to remind us of what is important and where our focus
and priority should be.
While the end of the age and the second coming of Jesus
may not occur for years, decades, centuries, or even millenia, that doesn’t erase
the fact that each of us face the end of our lives within the next hundred
years or so. These natural disasters are
harbingers of the wrath of God on those whose sins are not forgiven, on those
who have not been redeemed through the blood of Christ and who continue to live
apart from a personal relationship with Jesus.
These natural disasters are reminders of what awaits those who choose to
reject Jesus’ offer of the forgiveness of sins and who will be cast out into
the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
But grace is always present, and God is the Father who
stands by the road waiting for the return of the prodigal son, always ready to
run to him, to greet him, and to welcome the repentant sinner home. God’s grace and mercy are extended to us, and
these disasters can be considered His megaphone and His call for us to come
home.
So, use the opportunity provided by these horrific
disasters to share God’s love and message of salvation to this world. Do not use it as a means of judgment or
condemnation, but share God’s grace materially, financially, physically, and
spiritually with those affected by these disasters. Reach out to them and minister to their
needs, and share with them the hope we have through Christ.
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