Tuesday, January 3, 2012

SENDONG: JUDGMENT OR DIVINE GRACE?

SENDONG: JUDGMENT OR DIVINE GRACE?

1. Divine Judgment?
            Typhoon Sendong hit northern Mindanao on December 16, 2011, a bold disaster that struck like a thief. Without notice, without mercy, and without favoritism - it took a thousand lives. Rich and poor, those who slept and those who prayed, delinquents and righteous, the ungodly and the holy, believers and non-believers, all of them were subject to the authority of this disaster. Close friends lost, beloved nephews buried, treasured son drowned, mother-daughter forever separated, and a wife forever missed… Tears were shed like flash-flood, while grudges over this disaster burned like fire. Is Sendong God’s judgment against us?
            Christians were commanded to “laugh with those who laugh, and mourn with those who mourn” (Rom12:15), but sadly, some of us have twisted our Lord’s command and “judged those who mourn” instead. Though the scripture tells us that disasters are not beyond God’s control, that it is under Divine Providence (See bottom **), we should be careful not to sound as though God delights in sending disasters. We should not go beyond what has been revealed to us - “Secret things belong to the Lord, but the things revealed belong to us” (Duet29:29).
            Yes, many a times the bible tells us that God sends calamities as His judgment against the wicked (Jer36:31), but the point is –knowing this, how should we respond then? What would be our proper reaction then? Whether God sent Sendong  as Judgment or not, it is not for us to pry upon! Let us look at what the scriptures had to say:
About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar.
Jesus responded, "Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
Not at all. Unless you repent, you too will perish.
And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites?
Not at all. Unless you repent, you too will perish."” (Luke13:1-5)
If we are so insistent on saying that Sendong is God’s judgment against the people of Iligan and CDO, and that those people rightly deserved what they earned, are we saying then that they are worse sinners than the rest of all the people of Mindanao? – than the rest of us? Because insisting on those things insensitivity, would consequently mean that we are supposing that they are worse sinners than us because they experienced such and such and that we are also supposing that we are more righteous than them. In that, we would receive a stern correction from Jesus, “Not at All!” He rebukes. It is not our place to gloat over them with a judgmental smirk.
The scripture tells us, “Unless you repent, you too will perish”, this means that a person saved from disaster – who wasn’t included on those who suffered the calamity – is as much a sinner as those who perish! We all also deserved what happened to them, and the reason why it happened to them and not to us, is not for us to interfere. All we know is that God never does anything unrighteous, and everything He decided to do is based in His infinite wisdom and Justice. In that we should trust, as the song says “When you don’t understand His ways, trust His heart”.

2. Divine Grace?
            The most important question a person could ever ask is this: “How can I escape from the wrath to come?” We are a fallen race, this is a fallen world (Rom3:23), we are accursed (Gal3:10), we have greatly dishonored the Most Worthy Maker, and there is certain judgment (Rev20:4). This judgment will be far worse than Sendong, and it would come like thief when everybody is unaware - happy with what they do. This Judgment will not only last for days, unlike Sendong - it would last for eternity. The pain this Judgment inflicts would be far-far-far more superior than the fury of Sendong – because it is the fury of God Himself!...
            While the person is alive, one the worst thing that could happen is if he is unaware of this “wrath to come”. Knowledge of this truth determines his eternal destiny – whether eternal life or eternal torment. Knowledge about the dangers of Sendong could have saved the lives of thousand unsuspecting victims – and in the same way, knowledge about the “wrath to come” could save you from eminent eternal danger. Knowledge about the Judgment to come is an act of Divine grace! God doesn’t have to warn us because Judgment is what we deserved for all our wickedness. But because He is the God of all graces - who doesn’t delight on the death of the wicked (Ez18:23), He continually gives us snap shots of the upcoming wrath, warning us to flee by repenting and turning to Him – for us to be saved.
            You see, when Jesus was on earth, and when the tragedy of Siloam happened (see Luke 13:1-5), He instructed His disciples not to gloat over those people with a judgmental smirk, and instead, He warned them “Unless you repent, you too will perish”. What Jesus is teaching them – even for us today - is that disasters, calamities, and tragedies are constant reminders that death is imminent and it has no favorites. The command to repent was due to the knowledge of certain death, and death due to certain judgment. Disasters awaken us to the fact that this is a fallen-imperfect world and is on the brink of destruction, for God would someday destroy the imperfect to give way for the perfect (1Cor13:10). Calamities are snapshots of the terrors of the upcoming judgment, which would make us realize the grave danger we are all in. Deaths of loved ones are constant reminders that life is a vapor, urging us to consider our eternal destination.
            Hard though as it seems, when we consider the weight of what Jesus taught us, it would make us conclude that somehow, Sendong is an act of Divine grace. Not wanting to sound insensitive, for we suffered with them, but in light of the Judgment to come, we ought to thank God for sending Sendong.

** “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create disaster, I the LORD do all these things” (Isah45:7)
“Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?” (Amos 3:6)

1 comment:

  1. He causes the wheel of providence to revolve in such a manner as to help his cause;
    he abridges the power of tyrants, overrules the scourge of war, establishes liberty in
    nations, opens the mysteries of continents long unknown, breaks down systems of
    error, and guides the current of human thought. He works by a thousand means,
    preparing the way of the Lord.

    -Charles H. Spurgeon

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