How Can God Allow Earthquakes?

Readings:
I Chronicles 6
Acts 4:32-37

Focus:
Acts 4:32b:"Not one of them claimed any of his possessions as his own; everything was held in common."

The earliest Christians shared their possessions freely. They are a model for us when we are faced with disasters such as the earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday, January 12. Our response, if we are not already giving regularly to disaster relief, should be to make a special effort to share our blessings with those who are in such dire need. As people who love God, we help those who need help.

The earthquake in Haiti also raises questions for many about God. Why, people wonder, if God loves everyone, does he allow horrible things like destructive earthquakes to happen to innocent people?

It is terribly difficult to realize that bad things happen in the world while we have a loving and all-powerful God. Yet the fact is that God gave us (humankind) the freedom to let sin into the world. So then when we made that choice, to allow sin into the world, it caused the whole creation to become broken. This opened the door to natural disasters.

Where God shows his good and powerful nature in all of this is in how he works with people in their response to disasters, and in how he brings good even out of horrific things. God could have made it otherwise; he could have not let us have the ability to choose sin, and therefore never let the creation be broken. Then no awful disasters would ever have happened.

But in his wisdom that is so much greater than ours, he knew that wouldn't be as good. We can't understand it. That's because we aren't God. All we can do is know that God is the definition of goodness and justice, and work to help those who have been affected by disaster.

And this world isn't the final answer. There is a world to come that will make this world look dim and pale and hard to remember by comparison. What we can do is work in this world to help others while waiting for that new world.