In late December the BBC put out an excellent sequence of on-the-spot amateur videos of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami disaster in Indonesia and Thailand. The initial part of the sequence, taken before the Tsunami struck either of those places affected me very deeply. It highlighted very powerfully the total unawareness and unpreparedness of those who were to feel its force.
The scenes were of great relaxedness and peacefulness, extensive and exotic pleasures, good food in plenty, beautiful surrounds – a “never had it so good” feel. There was not the slightest inkling (apart from one young boy, considered a bit ‘psychic’, who had a premonition of disaster to do with the beach) of any approaching disaster. Even as the water on the beach receded at one point in an unprecedented manner leaving vast areas of beach exposed no one felt any alarm. On the contrary people actually went out to explore and photograph the phenomenon. They described it as “peaceful” and “beautiful”. So a sign that should have been a clear warning became yet another of the exotic pleasures. One group, out at sea Scuba Diving, unbelievably found no fish but only overpowering currents, but remained just puzzled, having no idea of what it was pointing to.
Even as the waves returned (as quickly as they had gone out) people stood on the beach and photographed. The most astonishing sight was that of people seeing a most amazing wave out at sea, but having no measure of its size or distance simply using their videos to capture the sight. Only when its real size and proximity, along with its speed, dawned on them did they run. It was the speed, the suddenness and the unpreparedness that cost 250,000 lives and left so much tragedy.
This is a fearful parable of the nature of the judgements of God. He does judge, the effects are hideous and tragic, and it can happen so quickly. But, though ignored or overlooked, the warnings are there. The moment people ignore God the warning signs start to go up, personally and nationally. As a nation we are like the people on the beach, not realizing what we are looking at.
For fuller discussion – see pamphlet on website entitled TSUNAMI, written in January 2005
The scenes were of great relaxedness and peacefulness, extensive and exotic pleasures, good food in plenty, beautiful surrounds – a “never had it so good” feel. There was not the slightest inkling (apart from one young boy, considered a bit ‘psychic’, who had a premonition of disaster to do with the beach) of any approaching disaster. Even as the water on the beach receded at one point in an unprecedented manner leaving vast areas of beach exposed no one felt any alarm. On the contrary people actually went out to explore and photograph the phenomenon. They described it as “peaceful” and “beautiful”. So a sign that should have been a clear warning became yet another of the exotic pleasures. One group, out at sea Scuba Diving, unbelievably found no fish but only overpowering currents, but remained just puzzled, having no idea of what it was pointing to.
Even as the waves returned (as quickly as they had gone out) people stood on the beach and photographed. The most astonishing sight was that of people seeing a most amazing wave out at sea, but having no measure of its size or distance simply using their videos to capture the sight. Only when its real size and proximity, along with its speed, dawned on them did they run. It was the speed, the suddenness and the unpreparedness that cost 250,000 lives and left so much tragedy.
This is a fearful parable of the nature of the judgements of God. He does judge, the effects are hideous and tragic, and it can happen so quickly. But, though ignored or overlooked, the warnings are there. The moment people ignore God the warning signs start to go up, personally and nationally. As a nation we are like the people on the beach, not realizing what we are looking at.
For fuller discussion – see pamphlet on website entitled TSUNAMI, written in January 2005
Bob
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