God, How Could You?

There is seemingly an incredible amount of tragedy hitting this planet as of late. Cyclones take the lives of tens of thousands; tornadoes scream across the Midwest, flinging souls into eternity; Earthquakes undulate the ground and in one fell swoop cause the death toll to sky-rocket in China. Even more are injured - maimed for life, both physically and mentally.

Okay, God. How could you do this? Where is the God of love, grace, patience and goodness that we hear so often about?

Circumstances like these were contemporary in Jesus' day. Hear the words of Luke as recorded in his first account:

Luke 13:1-5
Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Is there any sense to the tragedy taking place around us?

Perhaps the greatest sense we can take away from these biblical current events and even our news events of today is the message that Jesus Christ tried to relate in Luke's account. That is, these events should drive us to our need of repentance. Not only that, the events of the day should cause us to realize that we need to be reaching out to those around us, explaining their need for repentance before they perish. The six o'clock news should be in reality one of the greatest evangelistic motivators in our homes. Thousands over the last several days have entered eternity - all with or without Christ.

God, impress that in our hearts today.