God and Suffering

One of the secular world's greatest defence is that if God exists, He is cruel and evil to cause such suffering and destruction. Christians struggle to reply to this accusation because it seems true. How could a loving God allow an earthquake to cripple Japan? How could He send a violent Katrina into our friend's backyards? Some Christians blame the destruction on Satan's end time plan to destroy the human race. This might be true to some extent, but I am considering another option.

Romans 8:20-25

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

I think the current shakings are a good thing. Don't dismiss my thoughts; hear me out. When a woman gives birth, the contractions and pain are real agony, but the purpose is for good. When Jesus (FULLY GOD) is about to make an appearance, the shaking will increase. I relate it to a first date. Your heart flutters, you keep checking yourself in the mirror, you plan what you are going to say, and you are nervous. When God comes near, the earth MUST react. It has no choice in the matter. God is God. He is just and He is powerful. His presence descending on a fallen world will be a dramatic occurrence. He will have the eyes of all men and women. The earth will respond with violent contractions.

Do I weep and mourn for those who perished in the tsunami? Yes! Yes! It is tragic and horrifying. However, I am not without hope. Jesus went to the grave and He rose again. It is hard to say goodbye to the old earth. No matter, this world is still finite. After the pain of childbirth, a beautiful new creation will arise. Jesus, I long to to know the power of Your resurrection!

2 Peter 3:10-13
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.