As I write this, 32,000 men, women, and children have been forced to flee their homes in Colorado Springs as the Waldo Canyon Fire rushed into town in "a firestorm of epic proportions," incinerating suburban neighborhoods in its path. No one has yet been killed or injured, but the sheer display of unrestrained destruction is terrifying.
As a Christian, how do we respond to this?
We should pray, certainly, but I think the disaster and others like it around the state should also give us pause to think. We speak of God so often as gentle, mild, and almost cuddly. How then do we explain this fire? What is our answer? Is it simply one of those things that just happen and over which our adorably plushy care-bear styled god has no power? If that is so, what use is he and why should we pray to him in the face of this disaster--if he obviously couldn't stop it in the first place? Is it, perhaps, that god has the power to quell this fire, but simply can't be bothered to use it? What kind of an apathetic god that is--and what a contradiction that we should preach he was the one who sent Jesus to die! Or do we acknowledge (with the insurance companies, of all things) that wildfires--including this one--are an "act of God?"
I admit I vacillate between the answers myself. I have cultivated over the years an image of God as a cosmic "nice guy," who would never allow this sort of thing to happen. But it is happening right now, and, as Amos says, "Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?" (Amos 3:6). There is disaster right now in my city. I may blame winds and terrain, dry seasons, and such like. I may even concoct wildfire-demons to pin this on, but ultimately I have to face the fact that God made all of these precisely the way that they are in the full knowledge that on June 26 this wildfire would begin to destroy this city. I may never understand why, but I have to come to terms with the fact that this is what has happened. It shows a whole other side of God, one I confess I'm reluctant to know. It shows the same side of God that cursed the whole of his creation because Adam and Eve took a bite from the wrong fruit tree. It shows the same side of God that ordered the genocide of the Canaanite peoples in the book of Joshua, the same side that later claimed ultimate responsibility for Assyria and Babylon's brutal conquest of the Jews, the same side that pre-planned the gory murder of His own Son, the same side that promises to reward all who reject His Son with torment in Hell.
It's not a comfortable side of God, and perhaps not one I can ever fully comprehend, but it is real, and if I really want to know God, I must know this side of Him as well.
As a Christian, how do we respond to this?
We should pray, certainly, but I think the disaster and others like it around the state should also give us pause to think. We speak of God so often as gentle, mild, and almost cuddly. How then do we explain this fire? What is our answer? Is it simply one of those things that just happen and over which our adorably plushy care-bear styled god has no power? If that is so, what use is he and why should we pray to him in the face of this disaster--if he obviously couldn't stop it in the first place? Is it, perhaps, that god has the power to quell this fire, but simply can't be bothered to use it? What kind of an apathetic god that is--and what a contradiction that we should preach he was the one who sent Jesus to die! Or do we acknowledge (with the insurance companies, of all things) that wildfires--including this one--are an "act of God?"
I admit I vacillate between the answers myself. I have cultivated over the years an image of God as a cosmic "nice guy," who would never allow this sort of thing to happen. But it is happening right now, and, as Amos says, "Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?" (Amos 3:6). There is disaster right now in my city. I may blame winds and terrain, dry seasons, and such like. I may even concoct wildfire-demons to pin this on, but ultimately I have to face the fact that God made all of these precisely the way that they are in the full knowledge that on June 26 this wildfire would begin to destroy this city. I may never understand why, but I have to come to terms with the fact that this is what has happened. It shows a whole other side of God, one I confess I'm reluctant to know. It shows the same side of God that cursed the whole of his creation because Adam and Eve took a bite from the wrong fruit tree. It shows the same side of God that ordered the genocide of the Canaanite peoples in the book of Joshua, the same side that later claimed ultimate responsibility for Assyria and Babylon's brutal conquest of the Jews, the same side that pre-planned the gory murder of His own Son, the same side that promises to reward all who reject His Son with torment in Hell.
It's not a comfortable side of God, and perhaps not one I can ever fully comprehend, but it is real, and if I really want to know God, I must know this side of Him as well.
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ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, this is something I'm going to be studying for a while, so expect follow-up and unanswered questions.
Good post! God shows his majesty in fire as well as breathtaking mountains.
ReplyDeleteJared here, (my profile is making shenanigans)
ReplyDeleteWe must remember, that all the actions God undertakes are good and just, no matter how harsh they may appear to us. at the end of the day we are all sinners and if God chooses that we should endure hardship then we must make the best of it and have faith that it is for the best and that He will give us the strength to endure it. Also, God brings life out of death, so the fire may destroy, however it will also bring life by destroying the beetle-killed trees, opening the pine cones and allowing the next generation of trees to be seeded, and making way for new plant and animal life. Fires are a natural part of a forest/grassland's life cycle, and after every burn, the environment comes back more beautiful than before. Also when neighborhoods come under the threat of fire, it brings people together to help those in need and this is goodness, and strengthens the community by creating fellowship. at our store, there has been a stand collecting donations to buy King Soopers gift cards for firemen, evacuees and those who have lost homes, and I know there are many similar drives going on in Boulder, Colo. Springs and Ft. Collins, and so the communities are banding together.
I think both of you have good points--though who this unknown poster is, I have no idea... ;)
ReplyDeleteFire certainly reveals the awesome power of God. If God can rule over a world where a small spark can ignite a fire that engulfs more than a hundred thousand acres and spreads smoke plumes 20,000 feet in the air, then He is truly a force to stand in awe of.
At the same time, we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, who are the called according to His purpose. That even includes a "firestorm of epic proportions" that decimates neighborhoods. God can use even this for good.