Maui Fires

 "Or do you think that those 18 on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them were worse sinners than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" Luke 13:4-5

I watched in horror as the story of fire on my former home island of Maui was displayed on TV. I lived on Maui over 20 years. I enjoyed Front Street in Lahaina many times, sitting under the Banyan Tree, or window shopping, or just walking along the boardwalk. Tragically, this is all gone now, swept away by an inferno that came upon the town out of nowhere. And, of course, the most tragic was the loss of life, which now exceeds 100 souls. My heart breaks. How could this have happened? Where was God? Why could He not have at least warned those people? 

The people of Jesus' time asked him the same question. Perhaps an earthquake had come upon Siloam, and 18 souls were lost. In their theology, if something evil falls upon you, it meant that you had done something to deserve it. Job's friends thought the same way 2000 years before Jesus. Jesus' answer to their question, though, corrects this errant view. Essentially, He says, we are ALL sinners, deserving of the same fate that fell upon Siloam. We might not IMMEDIATELY come upon such a tragedy, but if we don't repent, we will fall into the same judgment. 

We grieve for the loss of family members, friends, coworkers who lost their lives on Maui. The sobering reality is that it could have been us. No one is guaranteed even another minute of life on this planet. Hosea makes it clear that "it is of His mercies that we are not destroyed". Every breath we take is a breath that we do not deserve. Every minute we live is due to the grace of God, who did not destroy us in the Garden of Eden when our first parents sinned. 

I can think of no better way to live than to always keep in mind the grace that is given us everyday. We certainly will fall into various trials and tribulations. Jesus did not promise us a life free from unpleasant circumstances, but that He would be with us as we walk through them. Let us then always be grateful. If we live, we live because of the grace He has given us. If we suffer, we are completing the sufferings of Christ, as He is in us, suffering with us. The reward is sure: We are being transformed into His image, from "one degree of glory to another". When we have the eternal perspective, it all makes sense.