Thoughts on the Tsunami
As the death toll rises, and scenes filter through our television sets of what has happened with the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, I feel a terrible sadness and empathy for all the victims. This is the most horrible thing I have ever seen and my thoughts and prayers go to all of the victims, their families, and the horrible stuggle that the survivors are going through. The death toll is over 120,000 people so far and is sure to rise further as disease begins to have it's effect.
As I was watching the news throughout the week, however, I was really disturbed by some of the early coverage. By Monday, there were stories about how this could have been avoided through early warning systems, what the chances were of this happening to us, etc. I was kind of shocked. I mean, this was a 9.0 earthquake that spawned a tidal wave that travelled 500 miles per hour. It immediately hit Thailand and Indonesia. Within 3 hours it had hit Sri Lanka and India. Within 6 hours it hit Somalia. When hurricanes hit the U.S., we have days of warning and still not everyone gets out. It just struck me as being incredibly insensitive to the victims to be having this conversation at this point publicly as well as being unbelievably arrogant to think that we as humans have control over things like this. We don't.
The truth: life on this planet is full of heartache, death, and disaster. We in the West have insulated ourselves from it and we think that we can control everything through our technology, science, wealth, and just because we're special. Through 9/11 and now the thousands of Americans that are still missing as the tsunami hit these resort regions, we are getting a glimpse of the suffering that the rest of the world goes through. I was in India this past summer and I can tell you that these are real people with real dreams, families, occupations, and lives. We in America seem to see them as hordes of humanity, a hopeless rabble that we don't think about very much. The suffering that they are going through right now is incalculable and I hope that we are on our knees praying for them and doing all we can to help. I really hope that the U.S. gives more than $35 million for the worst natural disaster in modern times as well. I really hope that this is more than just an interesting human interest story when it is all said and done. Let's stop for a moment and really soak in the tragedy: 120,000 dead, at least. 9/11 was about 2,800 dead. The tragedy for both is absolutely horrible, but I hope that we really are motivated to act long term and see these people for who they are even if this did not happen in the U.S. I think that Jesus would have done that.
Something interesting to pray about as the new year hits, is, how does Jesus feel about these things? Does God just sit back and watch. Does He care? All of these questions were answered on the cross when Jesus took on the suffering of humanity. In truth, Jesus did not cause this to happen. It happens because the whole world is in captivity to sin and things like the earth convulsing through earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, etc. is a result of things not being how they are supposed to be. Jesus came to save us and to redeem the world. One day, we will live in a world where these things do not happen when Jesus comes back. Until then, we hope for his return, we share his salvation with others, and we serve others as Christ served us, broken over the loss and death that we are still subject to. Jesus does save and God does love the world - He showed us that with the death of His Son to redeem us and to save us.
As I was watching the news throughout the week, however, I was really disturbed by some of the early coverage. By Monday, there were stories about how this could have been avoided through early warning systems, what the chances were of this happening to us, etc. I was kind of shocked. I mean, this was a 9.0 earthquake that spawned a tidal wave that travelled 500 miles per hour. It immediately hit Thailand and Indonesia. Within 3 hours it had hit Sri Lanka and India. Within 6 hours it hit Somalia. When hurricanes hit the U.S., we have days of warning and still not everyone gets out. It just struck me as being incredibly insensitive to the victims to be having this conversation at this point publicly as well as being unbelievably arrogant to think that we as humans have control over things like this. We don't.
The truth: life on this planet is full of heartache, death, and disaster. We in the West have insulated ourselves from it and we think that we can control everything through our technology, science, wealth, and just because we're special. Through 9/11 and now the thousands of Americans that are still missing as the tsunami hit these resort regions, we are getting a glimpse of the suffering that the rest of the world goes through. I was in India this past summer and I can tell you that these are real people with real dreams, families, occupations, and lives. We in America seem to see them as hordes of humanity, a hopeless rabble that we don't think about very much. The suffering that they are going through right now is incalculable and I hope that we are on our knees praying for them and doing all we can to help. I really hope that the U.S. gives more than $35 million for the worst natural disaster in modern times as well. I really hope that this is more than just an interesting human interest story when it is all said and done. Let's stop for a moment and really soak in the tragedy: 120,000 dead, at least. 9/11 was about 2,800 dead. The tragedy for both is absolutely horrible, but I hope that we really are motivated to act long term and see these people for who they are even if this did not happen in the U.S. I think that Jesus would have done that.
Something interesting to pray about as the new year hits, is, how does Jesus feel about these things? Does God just sit back and watch. Does He care? All of these questions were answered on the cross when Jesus took on the suffering of humanity. In truth, Jesus did not cause this to happen. It happens because the whole world is in captivity to sin and things like the earth convulsing through earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, etc. is a result of things not being how they are supposed to be. Jesus came to save us and to redeem the world. One day, we will live in a world where these things do not happen when Jesus comes back. Until then, we hope for his return, we share his salvation with others, and we serve others as Christ served us, broken over the loss and death that we are still subject to. Jesus does save and God does love the world - He showed us that with the death of His Son to redeem us and to save us.
posted by Alan Cross @ 9:50 AM
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