Greater Sinners?

We have family in the Rowlett, Texas, area, where recently, there has been an onslaught of bad weather.  It seems that as they are recovering from one nasty storm, another is biting at its heels.  Months after the devastation, one can still drive through the neighborhood, and see the results of the storms.

We also have a friend who suffered great personal losses last year.  While on a ministry trip, he received a call from a friend that his house was burning down.  That same season, he lost a very close relationship.  And then in the fall, he was thrown from a horse and broke his neck.

WHY?!

We all know people who have suffered great losses.  We all have.  But there are those who, it seems, have endured more than their “fair share.”

Again, I ask, “WHY?!”

When we hear of these things, we may also hear that little voice inside our head, or even a voice over the radio or internet, saying, “See!  Their sin is the problem.  This is the judgment of GAWD!” (Be sure to insert a sanctimonious, religious voice here!)  But be careful of listening to this voice of accusation.  After all, who is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10)?

I think maybe, just maybe, STUFF HAPPENS.  Storms come.  Accidents happen.  People die.  It’s the way of life.

The year 1861 marked the beginning of the American Civil War; the Mendoza Earthquake, killing 12,000 people (The Mendoza Earthquake, 1861); the ongoing Taiping Rebellion, which claimed some 20 million lives (Taiping Rebellion, 2015); and the Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy, killing 17-20 individuals (Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy, 2016).

On September 8 of that same year, just days after the Railroad Tragedy, Charles Spurgeon delivered his sermon entitled, “Accidents, Not Punishments,” in which he stated,

Now, men and brethren, such things as these have always happened in all ages of the world. Think not that this is a new thing; do not dream, as some do, that this is the produce of an overwrought civilization, or of that modern and most wonderful discovery of steam. If the steam engine had never been known, and if the railway had never been constructed, there would have been sudden deaths and terrible accidents, not withstanding. In taking up the old records in which our ancestors wrote down their accidents and calamities, we find that the old stage coach yielded quite as heavy a booty to death as does the swiftly-rushing train … LET US TAKE HEED THAT WE DO NOT DRAW THE RASH AND HASTY CONCLUSION FROM TERRIBLE ACCIDENTS, THAT THOSE WHO SUFFER BY THEM SUFFER ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR SINS. (Spurgeon, 1861)

Jesus faced the same type of judgment-minded people (must’ve been ancestors of the ones to whom Spurgeon was preaching), recorded in Luke 13.  They reported to him, about certain Jews, whom Pilate had killed, and mixed their blood with the sacrificial lambs’ blood.  Answering this, as well as a recent accident involving 18 deaths when the Tower of Siloam fell, Jesus responded,

Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?  I tell you, “No...” (Luke 13)

Accidents, war, death, natural disasters – these have been a part of our world since the beginning of time, and they will continue until the time that the last enemy is defeated (1 Cor. 15:26).

So what is our response, as Christ’s body, when these things happen?  First of all, DON’T JUDGE!  DO Encourage.  Do Support.  Do Listen.  Do Be Available.  Do Pray.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3,4)

Peace,

Davina

Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy. (2016, January 4). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_Bridge_Railroad_Tragedy

Spurgeon, C. (1861, September 8). C. H. Spurgeon:: Accidents, Not Punishments. Retrieved from Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0408.cfm?a=986002

Taiping Rebellion. (2015, December 8). Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/event/Taiping-Rebellion

The Mendoza Earthquake. (1861, June 30). Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1861/06/30/news/the-mendoza-earthquake.html