“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt 5:43-45).
Disasters
When a widespread disaster makes the news, we often worry as to whether anyone we know, or anyone in our community, is affected. You only have to think of the recent cyclone in Vanuatu1, or the earlier ones in the Philippines, to appreciate what I mean. In both cases, the Christadelphian message system lit up with the news, and in the case of Vanuatu, to the relief of all there were no injuries or loss of life reported among the brotherhood. As reported “It is with thanks to our Father that we found not one person… was even injured. All of our brothers and sisters on the island are safe.” For this we are all grateful, but the damage to property was immense, so quite naturally the ACBM, among other organizations, has launched an appeal for funds to help in the aftermath of the terrible destruction.
It seems natural to express such thanks when those of our community are spared from the effects of disasters. But it must be realized, unfortunately, that tragedies befall us all from time to time. Anyone who has been in the community for any period can remember sad events: death by car accident, gunfire, and illness can all strike with suddenness, and cause grief and sadness to all involved. Many thought that Christadelphians would be protected from the German bombs that rained down in WW2: but a reading of The Christadelphian shows no such protection, as at least eleven brethren and sisters lost their lives during such air raids. There is no assurance that being a Christadelphian conveys any remit from disaster, whether it be natural, man-made, or individual. As Jesus said in those familiar words “Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4-4). And I am sure he was saying, not that repentance would prevent their eventual demise, but that unless they repented their demise would be eternal. If they repented, then they had the hope of resurrection to life eternal, which is what they (and we) most surely hope for.
The one certainty
There is one uncertainty which everyone faces. There is no escape from death. So, even for the person whose life runs on oiled wheels, the greatest uncertainty of all is an ever present danger. No one knows in advance the day of his or her death, or how it will occur. There is an irony here. Because this is an uncertainty shared without exception with all mankind, the human mind seems able to shut it out, when it can’t shut out other uncertainties. People live with the constant uncertainty of death, and hardly ever give it a passing thought, when the merest hint of adversity in another form causes them to lose sleep, get severely stressed or even clinically depressed. Of course, some people can cope with such stressful life events better than others, but almost no-one worries overmuch about their ultimate fate until it is imminent.
Many people live as if there is a real possibility of their never dying. They accumulate wealth which they are unlikely to spend on themselves; they make plans without ever qualifying them with “if the Lord will”; and they confidently expect their future years to be better than those in the past.
The trouble is that, surrounded by this common attitude, we can so easily act in the same way. We too can make plans with little thought about adverse circumstances arising to disturb them. We too can surround ourselves with many of the things which make life comfortable and pleasant, as if life will always continue as it does at present. This is not to say that the arrival of difficulties in life automatically focuses a person’s mind on the things of God, for it can have exactly the opposite effect, making a man curse and swear about the “God of love” whom he alleges religious people foolishly believe in.
There is no simple formula; no foolproof method. What Job learned during his time of trial is that it is impossible to draw conclusions about a man’s standing in God’s sight from observing what occurs in his life. Good and evil, comfort and trouble, can afflict the wicked and the righteous. As the Psalmist said with surprise and bewilderment: “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree” (Psa 37:35).
The wicked and the righteous
The prosperity of the wicked seems to mock at God’s righteous purpose, giving any who are inclined to forsake His ways a ready-made excuse not to serve Him. If there were exact and immediate divine retribution for sin, men and women would serve Him only through fear of the consequences of disobedience.
Why then do we so often act as if this was not the case? Why do we infer, even if it is not directly stated, that ungodly behavior is subject to immediate and appropriate judgement? We slip easily into the line of thinking of Job’s friends, and are inclined to believe that if a disaster strikes in someone’s life there must be an explanation for it: some hidden fault which has caused God’s anger.
And why do we maintain the opposite? Why do we maintain that righteous behavior will protect us from disaster? What do we truly learn from Job’s troubles? Is it not that it is only when we accept that disasters can fall upon the good as well as the evil, that we have any hope of salvation?
This is particularly comforting in times of trouble, when all human aid seems futile. These are the occasions when, “with strong crying and tears”, prayers are made to the one who is able to save us from all affliction and lead us gently towards His kingdom. But the message of the Scriptures is that the greatest benefit will be found by those who have made prayer their lifetime’s activity, and not just something which is undertaken when trouble strikes. But the only certainty is that death will, in the end, befall us all. Affliction might befall us, despite our strong prayers. Even though “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16), this does not mean that such prayer will always be answered. We think of Paul, who said:
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor 12:7-9).
So even the entreaties of Paul were not answered. But he rested secure in the love of Christ. As we know, in the end Paul was almost certainly beheaded soon after his last imprisonment described in 2 Timothy at around the age of 60 or so, after a long life full of many hardships, as described in 2 Corinthians 11. But he rested secure in the sure hope of uniting with Christ in the kingdom:
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39)
Conclusion
As has often been said, we need to live our life as if Christ will return at any time, whether this is true for all mankind, as we hope and expect is near — or for us individually, for we know not when death might take us. Our hope is that of redemption, of the ultimate freedom from death in the future kingdom, and we should live our lives in that hope, not in freedom from troubles in this world. I am sometimes known to remark “Life is tough, and then you die”. As Christadelphians, we have no special treatment, no particular dispensation from the troubles and disasters that affect all mankind, whether it be natural events or man-made.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
So indeed let us persevere to the end, treating with joy the trials that beset us all, for the hope that is before us. It is not for us to assume that being Christadelphians will save us in this world, but in the world to come.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One