Calamity…

Do you know this word? The dictionary defines it as:

“An event that brings terrible loss, lasting distress, or severe affliction; a disaster” (www.dictionary.com)

As you know, the earthquake in Haiti was a calamity.  A catastrophe of nature that is responsible for death toll numbers that are beyond shocking and impossible to get our minds and hearts around.  The images coming from the already impoverished nation crush our spirits and even disorient the foundations of our worldviews.

But…having our worldviews disoriented is not always a bad thing.  Calamities change our perspective and drop us to our knees.  Disasters refocus our priorities and more clearly define our vision for life.  The earthquake and subsequent loss of life, disease and homelessness should at the front of our prayer line, and most of all, we beg God to empower the gospel to go forth and bring millions into His Kingdom.

I would encourage one more thing…

Remember that calamity is always a possibility coming our way.  It’s easy to feel safe when you don’t live near a fault line or along the hurricane belt, but trust me…that feeling is a false sense of security.  Disaster can strike anytime, anywhere, and as someone once said, “Nobody gets out of life alive.” That should cause us to think about issues more important than physical disasters.

That is why the Bible is abounding in warnings about a spiritual calamity, including a very clear admonition from Jesus Christ:

“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:35-36).

Another version of the Bible phrases that last sentence this way:

“All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that.”

Jesus is crystal clear in His warning of imminent calamity for those who haven’t trusted in Him as Savior.  The original word for “judgment” actually means “punishment,” which is why life without Jesus Christ really is a repeated cycle of “angry darkness” from the God of the universe.

Am I trying to scare you?  Yes!  God’s wrath is something we all should be afraid of, but there is great news for those who have trusted Christ for forgiveness:

“Because God’s children are human beings – made of flesh and blood – the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Hebrews 2:14-15, NLT).

The Bible makes it clear that God loves us, but because He is holy, His righteous anger against sin rests on those who refuse to accept the free gift of salvation that cost Jesus His life.  But what amazing news that believers are “set free” from the “fear of dying”!

In reality, you can divide the entire human race into two parties and two destinies.  There are those who have humbled themselves before God and realized they can’t be good enough to please God and enter heaven. They have kneeled at the foot of the Cross of Jesus and trusted Him alone for salvation.

Their destiny is forgiveness, restoration, and paradise.

Then there are those who run from God, even though His presence is seen and felt as clearly as a hot sun in mid-July.  They refuse to let go of their pride, because they have placed themselves on the throne of their lives.

Their destiny is calamity, despair, and punishment.

Ironic, isn’t it, that it takes a heart-wrenching catastrophe to wake us up to the real nature of life on this fallen planet?  Even more ironic is the fact that many Christians are more willing to jump on a plane and fly to Haiti than they are to bring up the gospel and the question of eternal destinations with their friends.

Pray for Haiti and give till it hurts, but let this horrible tragedy remind you that there are spiritual earthquakes happening everyday in the lives of your friends who don’t know Jesus.  You are the relief worker called by God to share the gospel and rescue them from God’s wrath.

Are you ready for the rescue mission?

If you google “Tiger Woods” right now, you will get around 40 million returns and over 7,000 news articles.

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the kind of popularity he desires right now.  The mainstream media is (as expected) executing the typical “pile on” maneuver and reporting on anything they can get their hands on, and if you’re like me, you’re ready for this story to run its course.

Of course, it won’t anytime soon.  We’ll be treated to headliner stories and sordid details that the generally morbid population feeds on like sharks in frenzy. We’ll get theories, speculations, and allegations that may go on for weeks – even months.

Until, that is, somebody else in the limelight pulls a different bigger-than-life train wreck that turns into the next menu item for TMZ and all manner of gossip-loving folks who love to read about failures so they can feel better about themselves.

But it should be different for Christians. While it may be virtually impossible for us to escape the story, rather than judging or condemning, as Christians, we should focus on what God can teach us through Tiger’s transgressions.

So…what can we take from the saddening saga of the Woods family?

First, look up.  Our personal failures and spiritual breakdowns so often happen as a result of not keeping our focus on Jesus Christ.  Here’s the way the writer of Hebrews puts it:

Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete (Hebrews 12:1-2).

I have no clue as to Tiger’s spiritual condition, nor is it my place to evaluate or judge since I don’t know him – I haven’t even met him.  But this story reminded me that if I take my eyes off of Jesus, I’m headed for a crash that involves a lot more than a fire hydrant and a tree.

Second, look around.  There are people everywhere who carry a load of loneliness, emptiness, and even depression because their deceptive worldview tells them that contentment and happiness can be found through something material.  Do we really need another story like this to be reminded that all the money, fame, success, and possessions in the universe still do not come close to providing a real and satisfying life?  God created life, so doesn’t it follow that life without a relationship with Him is pretty, well, lifeless?

There was a king named Solomon who lived thousands of years ago who had more bank and bling than anyone has or probably ever will.  He went on a party journey for quite some time to see if he could find contentment and happiness with things here on earth.  In fact, this is what he wrote:

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
       I refused my heart no pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

In the end, he found himself in a darker place than he ever imagined and he came to the conclusion that without God everything is “meaningless.”  Why?  Here was his reasoning:

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

What Solomon is saying is that there is a “God-shaped hole” in each and every one of us and trying to fill a spiritual void with a thing or an experience is an absolute waste of time.

But what isn’t a waste of time is the pursuit of God.  Here’s the promise from Jesus Christ:

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:20).

This “meal” He is referring to is a spiritual feast that no earthly possession or experience can rival.  If you’ve trusted Christ, you already know this, but again, please look around at all the people that are desperately looking to fill the eternity-sized empty space in their hearts.  What they want is what Tiger Woods wants and it is what you have found: Jesus.

Don’t keep this great discovery to yourself – knock it off the tee like you were playing for your life and the lives of your friends…because you are!-