This last weekend began with Harold Camping's much publicized, absolutely confident prediction that Judgment Day would hit the world at 6pm on Saturday, one timezone after another. (Why God would respect man-made timezones is beyond me.) It was sad to see how, by the end of the day, his adherents were so confused and disillusioned.
The weekend ended with the people of Joplin, MO, feeling like Judgment Day may have actually come. Unimaginable devastation from one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history.
What do theologically-irresponsible fear mongering and a truly devastating natural disaster have to teach us?
First, Camping wasn't wrong about Judgment Day happening, but about the timing and details of it. (I find it odd that his Judgment Day preceded his Rapture Day.) His irresponsible prediction only serves to further undermine belief that a real Judgment Day does await us.
Second, what happened in Joplin, as horrible as it is, pales weakly in comparison to what real judgment will be like. By no means would I diminish the horrible experience this disaster is for so many, but what grace saves us from is orders of magnitude worse.
I don't see what happened recently in Japan, Alabama, and Joplin as the direct result of God's judgment. They are, however, severe reminders that we live in fallen universe marching steadily toward instability, chaos, and eventual collapse. Our present world is incapable of hosting our eternal destiny.
We will eventually face our Creator, and He will either judge us based on our own righteousness or judge us based on the righteousness of His Son, imputed to us by faith. If judged by my own righteousness, I have only despair for a fate far worse than Joplin. If judged by the righteousness of Christ, I have only hope for a world that will never deteriorate, never break down, and never end.
No comments:
Post a Comment