Aceh, Haiti, and now Chile. Massive loss of life. 'God have mercy.'
I hate it when I get to hear from pious fundamentalist preachers (mostly from America), that this is judgement sent from God. Jesus confronted the same narrow-mindedness (read Luke 13:1-9) and challenged this mind-set. So sad that we still come across it; especially in the church.
Let's set the record straight: we live in a fallen world (full stop). Stuff happens - including bad stuff like earthquakes, wars, pestilence, and the list goes on. This is part and parcel of living under the curse of death - and it is on all of us. Sometimes it's on a massive scale, other times it happens when a young man commits suicide, at other times it happens to loved ones and we find ourselves at their funeral. Jesus' point here is simply this: death is a reality that confronts all of us. So, with that in mind, it's not an issue of who is worse or who deserves to die more. NO! no! no!
Christ calls us out of that - basically saying, this is not where I want you to end up, so chose LIFE while you have life within you. In this life we have but a few years, but what happens when we breathe our last - will you know where you are going after this life??? Jesus made it clear as to why he came into our history: 'I have come to give you LIFE, and life to overflowing.' (Jn 10:10)
Let's not make a sad situation worse; let's pray for these families and help with our wealth.
Rev.'D
