Dear Beloved, UNLESS YOU REPENT "Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish'" (Luke 13:1-5, NIV). On December 26, 2004, an Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis wreaking unprecedented havoc on about 10 countries. These catastrophic waves that swept across the Indian Ocean have claimed the lives of over 155,000 people, and rendered millions of people homeless while the number of missing people is unknown. I received an interesting junk email on December 28, 2004 with the subject, "Tsunami StrikeForce...and the death toll is 22,000, they are mostly…" The email reads in part: "22,000 DEAD...do you want to know the breakdown? 80% Hindu, 10% Buddhists, 9% Christians, 1% Muslims.… Those muslims that died were the sinful muslims." I am not interested about the statistics, but the last sentence. To me, the sender of the email is of the opinion that all those that perished in the havoc were sinners, especially the Muslims! No matter the religions of the casualties of the disaster, did they die because of their sins or unrighteousness? Are we that are alive today sinless saints, or more righteous than they? What do we want to say about the missing people and especially the displaced people in those countries? Is the fact that these people came to a sudden and violent death a proof that they were particularly wicked? By no means! As I was reflecting on the sender's assertion, I remembered the words of Jesus Christ amply quoted above - "…unless you repent, you too will all perish." Some people had come to Him to tell Him about the calamity that befell some people, apparently to prove to Him that they were more righteous than those people that were killed unexpectedly. Nevertheless, Jesus Christ used the opportunity to call them to repentance or else, they also would experience similar fate. He even went further to cite another example of a calamity that befell other people in Jerusalem. The point that Jesus Christ was making, which is still applicable to us today, is this: We must not be harsh in our censures of those that are afflicted more than their neighbors. No matter what befalls others, let us first, think of "ourselves" rather than of "others;" and when we hear of any calamity happening to others, let us remember that we also are not immune to it, rather, let us remember that it is a way of calling us to move closer to God. Only God can absolutely protect from danger. However, unless we repent and turn to Him, and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we would not be spared from the final calamity that will befall this world and all that do not come to Him. Let me conclude with these words of Solomon, "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them" (Ecclesiastes 9:12, NIV). In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). _________________________________________________ FindLaw - Free Case Law, Jobs, Library, Community http://www.FindLaw.com Get your FREE @JUSTICE.COM email! http://mail.Justice.com