Also An Act of God

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When disaster befalls a city, the prophet Amos tells us, the Lord is the one who has done it. What has happened to New Orleans this past week is not something that slipped past God, or somehow got away from Him. He is the divine author of all things, and this truly was an act of God—the God we worship.

At the same time, we are called as Christians to interpret and understand the signs of the times. We are not to interpret this event as the working of an inscrutable Fate, beyond all mortal calculation. We must avoid the hubris of detailing, but Scripture tells us that we must understand the world in which we live. And it is possible for us to do so.

But this means that we must not draw facile or wrong conclusions from events such as this. Jesus taught us that the Galileans who were killed by Pilate, and whose blood was mixed with the blood of their sacrifices, were not worse sinners than those who were spared. And those on whom the tower of Siloam fell were not worse sinners either. Jesus said to His generation that unless they repented they would all likewise perish. And sure enough, within one generation, disaster befell the entire city of Jerusalem. And this disaster was to be understood by all as a divine judgment, the meaning of which could be grasped by mortals.

Even so, our central duty in such times is not speculation, however responsible that speculation might be. We are not called to metaphysics in the first place. True and undefiled religion is this—to visit widows and orphans in their affliction. Everyone who has seen the images of this past week has to have wondered what they can do. We are coordinating with brothers and sisters in that region of the country, and any gifts you give designated for hurricane relief will go directly to those who desperately need it. This to is spiritual worship.

Because a cup of cold water given in the name of Jesus is also an act of God.

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