The Coming Disaster

[389 words]

The internet buzzes with sensational predictions of looming disaster. Titles read, “Collapse of the Dollar,” “Food Shortages Ahead,” “Polar Icecaps Melting,” Hyperinflation on the Horizon,” “Terrorism on the Rise” and so on. YouTube especially has numerous videos telling how to prepare for the imminent and abrupt end to life as we know it in America.

Could such prophecies of doom come about? Well, yes.

Ponder these questions. Are there any Divine guarantees that these things cannot happen? Have such catastrophes occurred in the past? Has money, education and government ever rescued a culture such as ours from bleak tomorrows?

You are as aware of the correct answer to these questions as anyone. There are no promises for the future.

Oh, it would be safe to say however that while there are no guarantees, there are possibilities. The chance of hyperinflation is probably greater than, say, a gigantic meteor striking the earth. I admit to personally having a greater concern that the stock market will crash than that global warming is going to decimate the earth.

In Luke 13:1, Jesus was given a news report about some fellow Galileans of their day who apparently incurred the wrath of Pilate’s soldiers who fell upon them with swords and mixed their blood with the blood of their own sacrifices. The aim of this report was probably the same as similar examples of “bad” news today: they are given to stir fear.

However, Jesus’ response was quite different. He did not deny the fact that such tragedies might befall anyone. He did not urge His audience to prepare themselves physically for whatever the report might mean for them in the future. He did not tell them to begin stockpiling food and water. He did not tell them to arm themselves or invest in gold.

What Jesus said to His audience, I imagine, was done in a non-excited, matter-of-fact fashion. He said about possible disasters, “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Jesus was not a fear monger. He did not teach for sensational aims. He was simply providing all men with an understanding of what is REALLY important. He was telling us of preparation that REALLY matters.