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Thursday, January 27, 2005

Sitting here, waiting for my transport to church later. I feel that i should write something about the recent tsunami attacks. At the very least, to perhaps state my position and opinion on this event and the purpose of God. I'll be trying my very best but i must say, this is so far what i can understand.

If u can remember a chapter of the bible that said Abraham stood infront of God and interceded for the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, He first asked God to spare the city if there were 50 righteousness men. And when God couldn't find 50, Abraham lowered the number to 45, decreasing by 5 everytime God couldn't find the number until Abraham reached 10.

The end of the story was that God could not find 10 righteousness men to spare the city and destroyed it, saving only Lot (Abraham's nephew) and his family. I think that this is a perfect illustration of why the disaster could not be adverted. There was firstly the great injustice in the lands that called out for justice from God. And not only that, there was an absence of righteous men to stand before God and intercede for the land. If God could say of Nineveh, one of the most wicked nations that oppressed the lands around them including Israel, "Should I not be concerned about that great city?", it is not logically possible that God executed the recent act of judgement in wrath and completely devoid of compassion. What stays the hand of God has always been the presence of righteous people who knew what God was about to do and interceded for the people that God wanted to judge.

In the same story of sodom/Gommorah and Abraham, even God asked Himself the question whether He should reveal to Abraham what He was about to do to the nation. Before God does anything, He reveals it to His prophets. (Amos3:7)Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. But even more significantly, why did God asked Himself that question? I would think that it is because He knows that Abraham is going to intercede for the land and on Abraham's behalf, God would have to pardon the land. Other extraordinary acts of forgiveness by God because of people who interceded was also that of Moses. God had wanted to wipe out the entire nation of Israel and make a new nation out of Moses but Moses interceded on behalf on the people and he succeeded.

Is this to say that the tsunami is a result of a lack of prayer, a lack of intercession by God's people, a profound sense of even deafness and sensitivity of God's people to what He is doing? I would think so. And I would think it is also the great absence of righteousness that caused evil to prevail and God's judgement to come upon the earth. It is so easy to let evil run its course and the "righteous" man to shut his eyes to it. I see that even in my life. Where the truth could have easily set me and others free in certain circumstances, my fear of men and the desire to be pleasing to others have shackled me instead. How many times have we just let things "slide" and not present the truth in love and humility, with passion and fervour?

I feel that the tsunami is a testament to the insensitivity of Christians to the God they profess to be omnipotent and almighty because in our countless testimonies of the miracles of God, we have only demonstrated a superficiality that ranks of the flesh and has nothing to do with the glory, holiness and magnificence of God. I am equally guilty of this and i see ahead of me such a very long and hard road to journey. At turns, i cringe at the prospect of "It's no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me". But i do see that all around me, there is a desire for something that is true and genuine to whatever the cause or purpose that person has chosen. The earth is literally in its birth pangs, not only from the tsunami but also, from the acute awareness that there seems nothing on earth that can answer their questions anymore. And if we as christians call ourselves to be ambassadors of Christ, how can we not answer the call?

posted by happyhannon at 5:09 PM