JR. Forasteros - August 17, 2014
Haggai
When we experience crushing tragedy, recovering seems impossible. Often, we build walls inside ourselves, keeping our hearts and souls safe - or so we think. Haggai shows us that in the wake of the Exile, God's people were doing the same. They were neglecting their relationship with God because it was too painful. But Haggai's challenge to them is the same as to us: if we stay behind our walls, we'll slowly die. We must embrace God once again, and when we do, we'll find not a God who is cold, uncaring and distant, but a God who suffers with us, who is working even now to redeem the world.
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The meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant in 2011 should never have happened. The powerplant was one of four constructed and operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. damaged in the 2011 tsunami that struck Japan.
Fukushima melted down because the tsunami washed over the complex, flooding the backup generators and tearing down powerlines. With no power, the pumps that kept the nuclear core cool shut down, and the reactor melted down. The disaster is considered the worst since the plant in Chernobyl melted down.
The problem with the Fukushima disaster is that, as multiple studies found after the fact, the TEPC had ignored multiple inspections, regulations and recommendations – including those from their own scientists.
In other words, the officials in charge of the plant had plenty of warning that, if they didn’t make some serious changes, they were headed for disaster.
They chose to ignore those warnings… and… disaster struck. Like they were told it would.
Have you ever been there? You were told something was bad for you, but you did it anyway, and it blew up in your face. Or you knew a habit would get you in trouble, but you silenced that voice of reason?
God works to rescue us from our sin. But faith is a relationship – God isn’t going to force us to obey (then it’s not obedience, it’s compulsion). If we want life, we need to learn to hear God’s voice – and listen.
