May you live in interesting times. This originally was a Chinese curse that was thought to be heaped upon their enemies. We use it today as co-equal with "May all your dreams come true," or "May you get what you wish for." The usage of these terms and quotes is always about the perspective we might have when things happen to us or around us or to our friends and relatives.
Kim and I have been anxiously watching the events in Australia. For the last 10 years, in Queensland and other areas, they have had a drought, so much so in fact that they have had to develop de-salination plants and charge much more for water. They cannot use rivers and streams because they have been reduced to a trickle and have been polluted by over- farming in the area. As a consequence their ground water aquifers have been sorely reduced. They cannot take more than a five minute shower, in their homes because of the lack of water. This all happened before the most recent floods that happened in the Queensland area. The ground is so flat that there is no natural valleys to fill up when it rains, the water simply flows outward across many acres and into urban areas. This caused major flooding in the area. Many people lost their homes and some people lost their lives. This is not only interesting but tragic.
Most recently, this area of Australia was hit with a cyclone, destroying many houses and doing millions of dollars of damage to the coastal areas. This too was not only interesting, but tragic.
If you lived in these areas, you might think the end of the world was coming. You could quote some of Jesus' sayings about the end of the world, and believe the end was near.
You could look at the sudden death of 100 thousand birds as evidence of the end. You could look at earthquakes in divers places and say the end is near. You could look at the hundreds of tornadoes in the midwest of the U.S. and say the end is near. You could look at the global economic tragedy and say the end is near. You could look at September 11 and say the end is near.
As a matter of fact, it all depends on your perspective. Depending on where you are and when, might give you the idea that Christ's return is imminent, that the end He foretold is near. You might be right or you might be wrong.
I can tell you one thing for sure, no matter where you are in the world, the end is coming, Christ is returning, and we should be ready, everyday, to meet our maker.
My perspective on natural disasters is this - stuff happens. If we could go back in history, we would find the natural world has always been full of these disasters and people have been affected by them. The one sure thing in every situation is this, God is with us.
There are hundreds of earthquakes every year. You just don't feel them. Somebody else might, but you don't. There are hundreds of tornadoes every year. The same thing, you don't feel them, but somebody does, somewhere. There are wars, and there have been for thousands of years, you weren't around to see them, but somebody was. There are storms, damage, cyclones, droughts, famine, hunger, habitat loss, floods, fires, rock slides, mud slides, wars, terrors and terrorists, disease, bugs, danger. They have existed all over the world since Adam and Eve. Just because you don't see them, somebody does, and somebody is affected by them.
The best thing to do is to be prepared to help whenever you can in whatever way can as soon as you can. God is with us, so we should be with those who are suffering, wherever that is. The message of Christ is that He is with us wherever we are, when we suffer and when we laugh. That's His name and His promise. I know I repeat myself sometimes but if we are going to give hope to the world, it has to be this, that God is with us in the storm, and in the sun. God is in control in spite of all the stuff that happens. He knows what is best for the earth and He knows what is best for us. Even if we go through trauma, God has a plan and a purpose. He doesn't reveal it to us, but he definitely wants us to know, He is with us.
Kim and I have been anxiously watching the events in Australia. For the last 10 years, in Queensland and other areas, they have had a drought, so much so in fact that they have had to develop de-salination plants and charge much more for water. They cannot use rivers and streams because they have been reduced to a trickle and have been polluted by over- farming in the area. As a consequence their ground water aquifers have been sorely reduced. They cannot take more than a five minute shower, in their homes because of the lack of water. This all happened before the most recent floods that happened in the Queensland area. The ground is so flat that there is no natural valleys to fill up when it rains, the water simply flows outward across many acres and into urban areas. This caused major flooding in the area. Many people lost their homes and some people lost their lives. This is not only interesting but tragic.
Most recently, this area of Australia was hit with a cyclone, destroying many houses and doing millions of dollars of damage to the coastal areas. This too was not only interesting, but tragic.
If you lived in these areas, you might think the end of the world was coming. You could quote some of Jesus' sayings about the end of the world, and believe the end was near.
You could look at the sudden death of 100 thousand birds as evidence of the end. You could look at earthquakes in divers places and say the end is near. You could look at the hundreds of tornadoes in the midwest of the U.S. and say the end is near. You could look at the global economic tragedy and say the end is near. You could look at September 11 and say the end is near.
As a matter of fact, it all depends on your perspective. Depending on where you are and when, might give you the idea that Christ's return is imminent, that the end He foretold is near. You might be right or you might be wrong.
I can tell you one thing for sure, no matter where you are in the world, the end is coming, Christ is returning, and we should be ready, everyday, to meet our maker.
My perspective on natural disasters is this - stuff happens. If we could go back in history, we would find the natural world has always been full of these disasters and people have been affected by them. The one sure thing in every situation is this, God is with us.
There are hundreds of earthquakes every year. You just don't feel them. Somebody else might, but you don't. There are hundreds of tornadoes every year. The same thing, you don't feel them, but somebody does, somewhere. There are wars, and there have been for thousands of years, you weren't around to see them, but somebody was. There are storms, damage, cyclones, droughts, famine, hunger, habitat loss, floods, fires, rock slides, mud slides, wars, terrors and terrorists, disease, bugs, danger. They have existed all over the world since Adam and Eve. Just because you don't see them, somebody does, and somebody is affected by them.
The best thing to do is to be prepared to help whenever you can in whatever way can as soon as you can. God is with us, so we should be with those who are suffering, wherever that is. The message of Christ is that He is with us wherever we are, when we suffer and when we laugh. That's His name and His promise. I know I repeat myself sometimes but if we are going to give hope to the world, it has to be this, that God is with us in the storm, and in the sun. God is in control in spite of all the stuff that happens. He knows what is best for the earth and He knows what is best for us. Even if we go through trauma, God has a plan and a purpose. He doesn't reveal it to us, but he definitely wants us to know, He is with us.
