Christian Blogs, Millpond Ink Musing
Millpond Ink Musing, 2015 – Of Temporal Judgments
There are times that I’m astonished and ashamed of those who are religious (I have a difficult time calling them Christians, though they speak of themselves as such) who point to catastrophes and say it is God’s vengeance against sin. We should consider what Jesus said of the Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with the sacrifices and of those killed in the fall of the tower of Siloam (Luke 13:1-5). Were they worse sinners than… us? No. Death is the consequence of sin, yes, but beyond that?
Oh, how self-righteous and judgmental we are! What do we say of the Coptic Christians who were beheaded? They weren’t Christians? Come on. If we’re going to say on the one hand that sinners died at the hand of God’s specific wrath because they were deserving, what do we say of the aborted child? Did he get what he deserved? Of course not! As Jesus said, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Not necessarily in the same manner; e.g. abortion, beheading or tower falling, but we shall surely perish, and that for eternity.
There is no doubt that God will have His day of wrath and justice, but consider the duration of that final judgment and retribution. Do we honestly think that God would specifically hasten the day of one’s death to hurry a man’s judgment as a personal vendetta? No. Every man has an appointed time and manner. Eternity will come fast enough.
For those who would so judge or pronounce God’s judgment against a particular person or group, I pray that you repent of your arrogance and sin. God is no respecter of men. That is taken in both the positive and negative; saint and sinner. The true believer prays that God’s will is done in the fullness of time. As for the day of one’s death it is a divine appointment for all but not given as a vendetta. God takes no pleasure in a sinner’s death.
