"Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse sinners than all the men who live in Jerusalem?" (Luke 13:4)
Last Sunday we lived through a hurricane that devastated much of the state of Florida and threatened to bring unimaginable harm to our area. By God's grace, our community was largely spared.
Our common days are often interrupted with reports of disaster. Some are natural, like tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes and some are man-made, like auto accidents and terrorist attacks. Our passage this morning reminds us of several interesting facts...
First, 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 who didn't have a clue about what was going on around Him. He knew and He cared. Does that knowledge encourage you? It does me.
Second, Jesus didn't believe that the deaths from the tower falling were the result of punishment from God. Not every accident, not every disaster is God's punishment. The eighteen who died in the tower disaster were not worse off morally and spiritually than the other residents of Jerusalem. If the tower falling was the hand of God against sinners, why did He spare the rest of Jerusalem? They were just as bad.
Third, this world is not heaven. And it never will be. Our world has been marred by sin, disease, disaster, and death. We want everyone to be nice and life to be fair; it doesn't happen. We want peace in this world; there is turmoil. We want everyone to be a team player; some are selfish. We want a pain free life; there are hurts and heartache. There's an old hymn in our churches, "This world is not my home..." I'm happy for that. "Our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). I'm even happier for that.
Fourth, our hope is in God. Even Christians are affected by hurricanes and floods, injured in car accidents or can be killed by falling towers. We can live in fear or we can walk by faith. Christians choose to pray. We pray for safety and strength and for the presence of God. We understand that even when bad things happen to good people, it's not an indication of a lack of God's love. Again, "This world is not my home."
Could you take a moment, right now, and pray for those suffering from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma?