Tsunami in Japan and the Bible
As a tongue-speaking and prophetic Christian, would I have been able to imitate Jesus by commanding the tsunami and earthquake to maintain their peace and be still (Matthew 8:23-27)? The fear that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve a miraculous result even if I had commanded the tsunami and earthquake surged into my heart. […]
As a tongue-speaking and prophetic Christian, would I have been able to imitate Jesus by commanding the tsunami and earthquake to maintain their peace and be still (Matthew 8:23-27)? The fear that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve a miraculous result even if I had commanded the tsunami and earthquake surged into my heart.
Accompanying the fear was the (forbidden) imagination of having to lose my wife, children, parents and other family members!
After the devastation, I’ve heard many Nigerians say: ‘God loves Nigeria, that’s why we’re not prone to natural disasters.’ The presupposition in such statements is that God hates Japan. Is it true? No!
I woke up at midnight to write this piece after watching clips from the tsunami on the Youtube of my Galaxy Tab. Reading stories in newspapers make events distant and abstract, but watching the video clips, I saw cities being swept away; vehicles submerged; ships flown atop buildings; human beings swept away; and everything that human knowledge and wisdom took pride in being destroyed in a wave of water.
All products of human science and technology; those things that have been created through the tenacity of human thinking and self-discipline; those things that put Japan in the league of the First World. Japan, humbled! So what are we aspiring to be? The wave of tsunami destroyed the best efforts of the best of human minds. I have continued to seek explanations to this disaster.
The only scripture that came to mind is 1 John 2:17, which says: “And the world is passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God lives forever”. I saw this scripture in a new light. Initially, when Saint John talked about the world “passing away,” I had interpreted it to mean, when Jesus comes, this earth will be folded and kept away, but now, I have come to agree that the phrase “pass away” may be another euphemism, meaning the world will be destroyed.
I mean the physical world; but not just the material world, but everything that we crave for – cars, big houses, the best of technology, beautiful women, handsome men, dollars… everything. They will be destroyed! Who will be saved? Only those who do the will of God!
As I wrote this piece, tears welled up in my eyes. Oh, this world is a huge waste. We’re living in a huge dump! But to really get out of it, we should be among those who do the will of God. If all your hope is in the alluring things of this world, then think Japan. They will all be swept away. But there is an opportunity to live forever in Christ Jesus. Begin to do His will today.
Adogo is a minister with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Mercy Seat Parish, Aso Estate, Abuja.