God has a plan to bring order and peace to this world. And all those who have died—in tragedies or not—will live again and experience God's ways in action. You'll find this plan in the pages of your Bible.
TV evangelist Pat Robertson is turning heads with comments he made about the devastating earthquake which ended the lives of tens of thousands of Haitians. He blames the tragedy on an alleged 200-year-old deal with the devil, saying, "…they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so the Devil said, 'Okay, it's a deal.'"
Let's take a look at another quote, this one from the Bible. An early first-century Roman governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, had brutally slaughtered some Galileans as they performed ritual animal sacrifices, mixing their blood with their animals'. Snippets of news spread to those near Jesus Christ, who were likely speculating about the cause of the tragedy. "Those sinners. Those Godless Galileans. They deserved what they got."
Christ's reply was cutting. "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:2-3, NIV).
Christ's response was not, "Well, they had it coming," but instead, "What makes you think they deserved it more than you?" Christ forced the news bearers to take a look at themselves. He continued—referring to another current event, asking, "Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:4-5, NIV).
Those who lost their lives in this Haitian earthquake, or the Asian tsunami, or the World Trade Center attack or the European Holocaust or any other tragedy did not deserve death more than we do.
We have all sinned, and unless we repent, we too will perish.
Here's the good news. God has a plan to bring order and peace to this world. And all those who have died—in tragedies or not—will live again and experience God's ways in action. You'll find this plan in the pages of your Bible. It begins with repentance.
It begins...with you.
TV evangelist Pat Robertson is turning heads with comments he made about the devastating earthquake which ended the lives of tens of thousands of Haitians. He blames the tragedy on an alleged 200-year-old deal with the devil, saying, "…they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so the Devil said, 'Okay, it's a deal.'"
Let's take a look at another quote, this one from the Bible. An early first-century Roman governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, had brutally slaughtered some Galileans as they performed ritual animal sacrifices, mixing their blood with their animals'. Snippets of news spread to those near Jesus Christ, who were likely speculating about the cause of the tragedy. "Those sinners. Those Godless Galileans. They deserved what they got."
Christ's reply was cutting. "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:2-3, NIV).
Christ's response was not, "Well, they had it coming," but instead, "What makes you think they deserved it more than you?" Christ forced the news bearers to take a look at themselves. He continued—referring to another current event, asking, "Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:4-5, NIV).
Those who lost their lives in this Haitian earthquake, or the Asian tsunami, or the World Trade Center attack or the European Holocaust or any other tragedy did not deserve death more than we do.
We have all sinned, and unless we repent, we too will perish.
Here's the good news. God has a plan to bring order and peace to this world. And all those who have died—in tragedies or not—will live again and experience God's ways in action. You'll find this plan in the pages of your Bible. It begins with repentance.
It begins...with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment