Whenever I hear of tragedies, like the tornados in Joplin, MO., I try to remember Luke 13:4 “Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?”
Jesus is responding to questions about people whose sacrifices were mixed with the blood of Gallileans by Pilate, and was this some kind of punishment from God.
I think most of our culture is beyond attributing personal tragedies to divine retribution, for our sins or those of our fathers.
Two stories of Joplin tragedies got to me.
I heard on the radio this morning of a 14 month old killed in a mobile home fire in my home state of Michigan.
His mother and 6 year old sister survived.
As I wondered about the father, I was told he was helping relatives in Joplin.
One of my brothers shared an email from a friend in Joplin, stating that the friend was OK.
But a friend of his was driving his son home from high school graduation and suffered a broken hip.
His son was pulled out of the car through an open window and is missing, presumed dead.
There are no words to explain these events, and they seems so unfair and inexplicable to us mortals.
There is a book called “Man's Search for Meaning” by a holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl.
He points out that “why?” is not a good question for us to ask.
“What can I learn from this?” works much better.
Perspective.
That freeway flooding in Detroit that slowed me down this morning; not really a big deal.
I deal with, and blog about, people in financial difficulty.
The job loss, maybe health issues that contributed, broken families, lost cars, foreclosed homes, are, in their way, often undeserved, and tragic.
But these pale in comparision to true tragedies like those in Joplin.
Gratitude.
Whenever I can bring myself to an honest perspective of my life, gratitude naturally follows.
For my problems, really, challenges, as opposed to the challenges I see others endure.
We are called to be faithful, not successful.
My family is healthy.
My children's life decisions are informed by their faith in Jesus Christ, so the main goal of our parenting is accomplished.
Roof over our heads, clothes on our back, food on the table.
I try to start every day with a gratitude list.
It focuses my attention on what God has given me, as opposed to what I think the world owes me.
Luke's next story is about the fig trees that had not bloomed for 3 years, and the owner gives them one more year to bear fruit.
So, after perspective, and gratitude, action.
What am I supposed to learn from this?
Just sit there, waiting?
That many others are always worse off than I, gratitude requires me to take action.
Prayer is always helpful.
I don't think even atheists would posit that praying for others is harmful.
You can donate $10 for tornado relief in Joplin by texting 90999.
Here is a link to other options for helping.