God in the Tsunami

As 2004 draws to a close, people around the world stare in shocked awe at the devastation of the huge earthquake and Tsunami that rocked the world on Boxing Day. Surely, a loving God, many would argue, would not allow such horror to occur at any time of the year, let alone the day after so many have stopped to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The Tsunami ripped through tourist resorts and native villages alike, sweeping away countless victims. Many of the dead were elderly or young children, who were unable to swim back to shore after being swept out to sea. The water chose its victims randomly, not sparing any one faith or culture from devastation. The news showed one mosque unharmed with its people dead on the sidewalk outside. A Gospel For Asia report told of the amazing survival of a whole Christian congregation:

"In one of our churches in Sri Lanka, our believers were spared even though their entire village was washed away," Brother K.P. explained. "At the time the wave hit, they were all in church, and their church building is located up in the mountains."

.. but at the same time the email reminded people that on the whole Christians were just as likely to be killed as others. How could God allow this tragedy to happen?

Perhaps, though, the role of God in this disaster should not be seen as 'cause', but as 'solution'. Although this world is corrupted, and terrible things happen for seemingly no reason, the Bible reminds us that in everything God can produce good results. Whereas a Tsunami could be seen as a bad thing (I doubt many people anywhere would see it as good) there can still be some good results that come out of it. By the 27th, one day after the Tsunami, Christian aid-workers were already rushing supplies, food etc in to the devestated regions, showing the love of God in the midst of the tragedy.

"In times like these, we know that God opens the hearts of those who suffer, and we pray that as our workers demonstrate God's love to them, many of them will come to know for the first time that real security comes only through Him,"Brother K.P. said.

The GFA email ends:
To help GFA bring help and hope to the tsunami victims, please go to
http://www.gfa.org/donate?DESIG=2520&motiv=WA4C-G1ER
And to help you pray for these suffering men, women, and children, we will be posting updates and photos from the disaster areas as they become available at http://www.gfa.org/urgent?motiv=WA4C-W9ER