Our world has had quite a shake up over the course of just one month. During it’s 31 days, the month of May saw almost 100,000 people dead or missing as a result of a cyclone in Myanmar (Burma) – 40% of the victims were children, 3,000 schools were also destroyed, leaving 500,000 kids without classrooms; additionally, an estimated 80,000 people lost their lives in China, with many more being injured and displaced. In American news, a small plane crashed in North Carolina, killing a Pastor of a large church in Florida, as well as one of his sons. Before the month was over, a well-known Christian music artist lost one of his adopted children in a tragic accident that literally occurred in his driveway.
There are no logical answers for these events. None of these occurrences seem fair in any way. Without trying to sound trite or insensitive, I must say that in all of this, Jesus is still the answer. He is the answer to every aspect of human need: spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical.
I cannot help but think, how many of those who died in the natural disasters that occurred overseas actually knew the Lord? Did missionaries and indigenous Christians have enough time to get the Gospel to these specific Chinese and Burmese before they died? Or were we in the West too consumed with our own personal issues, the rising cost of oil, and dropping value of homes?
At the end of May, I wonder whether Heaven or hell welcomed more people? Let us not wait for disaster to strike before we proactively go into all the world and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just as He commanded us to do.
