Why didn't we stop it

Why didn’t

we stop it?

John 1:1-13

“Why didn’t God stop it?”

That was the question that we looked at last week. My conclusion was that there was no simple answer. That’s not to say that other people haven’t suggested any simple answers, in fact the newspapers have printed many letters from people who have said, “God didn’t stop it…

• because God doesn’t exist,

• because God doesn’t care,

• because God needs to reduce the size of the world population,

• because God was punishing the Muslin world

All these are simple answers to the question “Why didn’t God stop it?” …but I firmly believe that they are all wrong. There are no simple answers.

It’s not that Christians haven’t got any answers, …it’s just that there are no simple ones. And the reason that they’re not simple is because the answer is all tied up with the sort of relationship that God wants to have with people like you and me.

How would you describe the relationship between God and people?

(Pause)

Different religions have very different views about this, …but for Christians, this relationship is sometimes described as being similar to that of a parent and child.

Jesus said that when we pray we should address God as our heavenly Father, (think of the Lord’s prayer). And as we’ve just read John’s Gospel, chapter 1 verse 12…

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

And one you see our relationship with God as being similar to that of a parent and child, you can see why there are no simple answers. Family relationships are complicated! I’m sure that most of us can remember conversations like this, either as a child or a parent:

“Why is Tom allowed to go to the cinema and I’m not?”

“Because you’re too young.”

“But you let Tom see films like this when he was my age.”

“But those films weren’t as scary as this one.”

“But I’m braver than Tom.”

…and so it goes on.

The parent loves the child. The parent wants the best of the child. But the answers to simple questions get complicated.

And as the child grows up, the relationship can become even more complex, and it becomes difficult to know what to do for the best.

When our children were little, Jan and I did everything for them. If they were in any kind of danger we would step in to protect them. But as they’ve grown older we’ve gradually let go, and helped them to look after themselves, …partly by telling them what to do, …partly by showing them what to do, …and partly by allowing them to learn from their mistakes.

And its that last bit, allowing them to learn from their mistakes, that’s so hard. There are time that we can see that they’re heading for trouble, …should we step in? or should we hold back? It’s a dilemma that all parents face.

It’s not a question of do we love them, or do we not. Of course we love them, and we want the best for them. But sometimes the most loving thing is not to intervene. Because if a parent always steps in, then the child will never fully grow up, …never full mature, …never learn to take responsibility for their actions.

God wants his children to grow up. He wants us to be mature adults, and to take responsibility for our actions. He has given us a wonderful world, and he wants us to look after it.

And he is helping us to do this, partly by telling us what to do, (through the Bible), …partly by showing us what to do (through the life of Jesus), …and partly by allowing us to learn from our mistakes.

And I’m sure that God faces the same dilemma as all parents. When he can see that we are heading for trouble, should he step in, or should he hold back?

------------------------

The first time that I can remember hearing the word ‘tsunami’ was earlier last year. I actually came across it in two different contexts, one of which was a news article about scientists warning about the possibility of a ‘mega-tsunami’ that could happen at any time.

They weren’t talking about a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, …but one much nearer home, in the Atlantic. A tsunami that could engulf parts of America, Europe, even the UK.

In preparing for this sermon I looked it up on the internet. There I discovered that four years ago Horizon had shown documentary about it on BBC2. This is the what the BBC said about this documentary:

“Scattered across the world’s oceans are a handful of rare geological time-bombs. Once unleashed they create an extraordinary phenomenon, a gigantic tidal wave, far bigger than any normal tsunami, able to cross oceans and ravage countries on the other side of the world. Only recently have scientists realised the next episode is likely to begin at the Canary Islands, off North Africa, where a wall of water will one day be created which will race across the entire Atlantic ocean at the speed of a jet airliner to devastate the east coast of the United States. America will have been struck by a mega-tsunami.

Back in 1953 two geologists travelled to a remote bay in Alaska looking for oil. They gradually realised that in the past the bay had been struck by huge waves, and wondered what could have possibly caused them. Five years later, they got their answer. In 1958 there was a landslide, in which a towering cliff collapsed into the bay, creating a wave half a kilometre high, higher than any skyscraper on Earth. The true destructive potential of landslide-generated tsunami, which scientists named "Mega-tsunami", suddenly began to be appreciated. If a modest-sized landslide in Alaska could create a wave of this size, what havoc could a really huge landslide cause?

Scientists now realise that the greatest danger comes from large volcanic islands, which are particularly prone to these massive landslides. Geologists began to look for evidence of past landslides on the sea bed, and what they saw astonished them. The sea floor around Hawaii, for instance, was covered with the remains of millions of years’ worth of ancient landslides, colossal in size.

But huge landslides and the mega-tsunami that they cause are extremely rare - the last one happened 4,000 years ago on the island of Réunion. The growing concern is that the ideal conditions for just such a landslide - and consequent mega-tsunami - now exist on the island of La Palma in the Canaries. In 1949 the southern volcano on the island erupted. During the eruption an enormous crack appeared across one side of the volcano, as the western half slipped a few metres towards the Atlantic before stopping in its tracks. Although the volcano presents no danger while it is quiescent, scientists believe the western flank will give way completely during some future eruption on the summit of the volcano. In other words, any time in the next few thousand years a huge section of southern La Palma, weighing 500 thousand million tonnes, will fall into the Atlantic ocean.

What will happen when the volcano on La Palma collapses? Scientists predict that it will generate a wave that will be almost inconceivably destructive, far bigger than anything ever witnessed in modern times. It will surge across the entire Atlantic in a matter of hours, engulfing the whole US east coast, sweeping away everything in its path up to 20km inland. Boston would be hit first, followed by New York, then all the way down the coast to Miami and the Caribbean.”

As I said, that was written four years ago.

Some scientists also think that the tsunami would also hit the UK and other parts of Europe.

Scientists don’t know when it will happen, …it could be 10 years time, it could be a 1000 years time. They also disagree about the scale of destruction, …some think that the claims in this article are wildly exaggerated.

But everyone agrees that there is a risk.

We also knew that there was a risk in the Indian Ocean, but chose to do nothing about it. Bill McGuire of Britain's Benfield Hazard Research Center recently said:

“A warning system in the Indian Ocean could have completely prevented loss of life in Sri Lanka and India from the south Asian tsunami, as in most cases people would only have had to travel half a mile inland to avoid the waves.”

He ranks tsunami risk as second only to global warming in the hazards facing the planet.

Why did they not have an early warning system? Because they can’t afford one, …and why can’t they afford one? Because of the huge debt repayments they are paying Britain and the other rich countries in the west.

You see, God had already given us everything we needed to prevent the tragic loss of life in Asia. God has given us:

• the science to understand how and why tsunamis are cause

• the brains to work out how to reduce the risk

• the technology to design early warning systems

• the ability to build buildings that can withstand huge waves.

That’s why I believe that God says to us, “Why didn’t you stop it?” Granted, we couldn’t have stopped the tsunami itself, but we could have prevented the loss of life, and most of the loss of property.

--------------------------------

The response to the Tsunami Appeal in Allesley Park and Whoberley has been fantastic.

When we launched the appeal last week I was aware that many people would already have made donations to various charities working in the area. But I thought to myself, if we could raise an extra £1,000 on top of that, we would have done very well. To have raised over £3,500 is amazing.

But it would be even more amazing if we could learn from our mistakes of the past, and start investing in things that will make our world a safer and better place for everyone.

The reason that there is so much resistance to do this is because it will be costly. Very costly. We are not just talking about early warning systems for tsunamis, (although that would be a good start), but costly measures to cut down on greenhouse gasses which are causing global warming.

We don’t want to spend the money now, on things that will save lives in the future. Politicians don’t want to tax us now, for things that will save lives in the future, (it’s political suicide, isn’t it?)

And so we take the risk, cross our fingers, and hope that the scientists are wrong. In effect we are gambling with the world that God has given us.

One of our church members was telling me about a conversation that they had recently had with a gambler. The gambler had been complaining, “I keep asking God for a big win, but he never gives me one. Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” I suggested that she tell the gambler that God has heard his prayer, and that his reply is “Stop gambling!”

I believe God is saying the same thing to the human race. He has asked us to take care of his world, but because of our greed we are neglecting to look after it properly. We are taking huge risks with our environment, and failing to protect those who are most vulnerable from the destructive forces of nature.

With regard to the Tsunami disaster God asks us “Why didn’t you prevent it?”, …and lovingly adds, “Grow up, …learn from your mistakes, …and stop gambling!”