Luk 13:1 There
were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose
blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2 And he
answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all
the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
Luk 13:3 No, I
tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or
those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think
that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in
Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 No, I
tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
As those who attend our church can attest, I have spent a
lot of time over the last two years plus dealing with suffering and how a
Christian handles adversity and calamity.
We are all now living in such a time of trial and we want to be sure to
redeem the time and act, think and communicate as Christians who have been
commissioned to go into the world and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus
Christ.
We have used the above passage to show what Jesus emphasized
during times of calamity and what these people needed to focus on. I notice that he doesn’t tell them that they
should quit going into towers and he doesn’t tell them that God loves them and
that they are safe in his arms, etc.
These things might be true and at times good to think about but I find
it telling what Jesus does say.
I hear a lot about “social distancing”; in fact it seems
that is almost all people are talking about.
I hope that it is helping; I imagine no one will know until all this is
over what was worthwhile and what was not.
But by all means do whatever you think is helpful to keep well. I would point out that the only reason any of
us can stay at home and perhaps not be exposed to the virus is because millions
voluntarily go out and risk exposure so that we can have food and electricity
and water, etc. If they didn’t do this,
none of us could sit in our houses with some measure of safety; so I am
thankful that they are not staying at home.
You cannot quarantine 330,000,000 people. So staying at home is a chance for some to be
able to limit their exposure but it comes at the expense of others. Just something to keep in mind because I hear
even Christians telling everyone to stay home and even saying that they are
killing people if they don’t. Maybe
there are other things we need to focus on which brings me back to the passage
above.
We have talked recently about the trumpet, warning judgments
of Revelation. They are given as a
warning to those living to repent because judgment is coming and it will be too
late to repent then. The fact is that a
lot of people are going to die from this and already have. No doubt a lot of those who have died knew
all about social distancing because that is the politically correct thing to
talk about. Everyone is happy for you to
tell them how to stay alive. But I
wonder how many of those who have died or who are going to die had anyone tell
them that they need to repent of their sins and get right with God through Jesus
Christ? In other words how many were
prepared for death? I am not saying
there is anything wrong with talking about social distancing but Jesus knew
that everyone is going to die eventually and so in times like this we need to
tell people how to be prepared for death first.
How many parents have gone over and over with lost children
or other family and friends, about how to stay safe but have never even
considered that their most pressing concern is to be confronted with their
sinfulness and its remedy? I suspect a
lot of Christians have said and written a lot about how to stay safe but have
lost family members that they have not said a word to about being prepared for
death. The proper response from the
Church to calamity is to repent, even while we are discussing social
distancing. I was able to talk about
these things with a man yesterday and the need to be ready to meet the
Lord. It would be easy to just talk
about socially acceptable things but that is not people’s most pressing need.
All this was reinforced to me yesterday as I read about the
reception the “My Pillow Guy” got when he would dare encourage people to read
their Bibles and pray; which was hardly confrontational. It reminds us that this world does not want
to hear that there is a God that they will answer to; let alone their sin and
judgment. But that is precisely what we
need to be speaking about.
So as we communicate to others, let us redeem the time and
perhaps see people brought into the Kingdom of God.
