Jump Start # 862

Luke 13:4 ” Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?”

The newscasts yesterday covered the devastation and death from the Moore, OK tornados. Many were killed, including children. Many homes were obliterated. What happened will scar those residents for the rest of their lives. It will take a long time for that community to recover. A year ago, a tornado cut a path of destruction not far from where I live, Henryville, IN.

It seems every so often our common days are interrupted by news of disaster, some natural, like tornados, others, not natural, such as plane crashes, explosions, or the attack of terrorists.   These disruptions scare us, makes us wonder about things and they cause some to doubt. They wonder about a God that allows tornados. They question is power and goodness when children die. The reason we do that is because it doesn’t seem fair.

Our passage today, reminds us of several interesting facts.

1. Jesus was aware of current events. He knew about the tower in Siloam falling. He knew how many died. Jesus wasn’t a stuffy intellectual that didn’t have a clue what was going on around Him. He did. Does that help you? It ought to. Jesus knows what is going on around us.

2. Jesus knew that disasters and accidents happen. A tower in Siloam fell. Why? We are not told. Was the blame in the construction or the maintenance of the tower? Were there too many people on the tower at one time? Was there an earthquake? Dozens of ideas could be presented. Towers fall. Planes crash. Cars break down. Humans make mistakes. Those mistakes sometimes take lives. When those lives are our loved ones, we just have a hard time accepting those things.

3. Jesus did not believe that the deaths from the tower falling were the result of punishment from God. Not every accident, not every disaster is to be considered punishment from God.  The eighteen men who died in the tower disaster were not worse off morally and spiritually than the rest of the residents of Jerusalem. That was Jesus’ point. If the tower falling was the hand of God against sinners, why did He spare the rest of Jerusalem. They were just as bad. They were deserving punishment as well.

4. This passage reminds us that we often have opinions about why things happened but our thoughts can be wrong. Very wrong. This discussion began with someone telling Jesus about the murder of some Galileans by Pilate. The news was shocking. Jesus, being a Galilean, may have even known some of those who died. Finger pointing and blame is only profitable if things can be improved or others have been guilty of crimes. Finding fault doesn’t change the situation. If it could have been proved that the tower in Siloam was poorly built, the next tower could be made stronger. But for those eighteen families who had a loved one die, that wouldn’t help them. Folks are quick to find fault and blame.

5. This world is not Heaven. It never will be. There is sin, mistakes, disasters and death. That is our world. There are young people that get cancer. There are mean people that hurt the innocent. There are bad people who have evil in their hearts. We want this place to be Heaven. We want everyone to be nice. They won’t. We want everything to work out. It doesn’t. We want peace. Often there is turmoil. We want everyone to be a team player. Some are selfish. We want all to care. Some never will. We want no pain. There is pain. We have a hymn, “This world is not my home…” I’m glad. This world is broken. Heaven is the place to be. Heaven is the world of no sin, pain, sorry, or death. No one in Heaven will be getting cancer. There will be no tornados in Heaven. No need for medicine in Heaven. We are shaken by these terrible things but must realize that these are a part of this world.

6. Our hope is in God. Faith lies with God. Even God’s people get cancer, die in car accidents and can be killed in falling towers. We can stay in bed all day with the covers over our head. We can walk in fear all the time. Or, we can pray. Pray for safety. Pray for strength. Pray that God will be with us. We can know that even if bad comes upon us, it is not an indication that God no longer loves us. Some day we will pass through the door of death and all this will be over.

Our prayers are for the families in Moore, OK who have been touched by this latest tornado. We pray that they will find comfort. We pray that they will get healed. We pray that they will not turn away from God. They need Him especially now.

Can you say a prayer, even now, for those families?

Roger