1/10/25

The fires in California are on everyone’s minds, but not everyone is thinking straight about them. Mostly I hear prayers for the people who have lost so much, but occasionally there is the odd comment to the effect that California is such an epicenter of wickedness and vice that God is judging them.

I cannot say for sure that divine judgment is not involved in this, but if so, the question remains, “Why only California?” and “What about the godly people living there?” Not everyone in the path of the fires are unrepentant sinners, and there are plenty of us living elsewhere who deserve judgment just as much, if not more than those in Los Angeles.

In Luke 13, Jesus dealt with this kind of thinking.

“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”” —Luke 13:1-5 

The question then is the question today: “Is tragedy always a sign of God’s judgment?” Jesus’ answer is a firm “NO!” He then adds a comment that often leaves people scratching their heads: “Unless you repent you will likewise perish.” It almost sounds like he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth: “They aren’t any worse than others, but if you don’t repent, you’ll also die.” 

I think what Jesus is saying here is, “You have to change your way of thinking” (That’s what the word repent means). If we start separating people into the “In’s” and the “Out’s,” such judgmental thinking will become a death trap. When we pass judgment on those we believe to be greater sinners than ourselves, we are revealing the hardness of our own hearts. Instead, we ought to, as John Wesley said, “Do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, as long as ever we can.”

Pray for the victims of the California wildfires. They are going to need a lot of help for a long time. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to continue praying for the flood victims of the Carolinas. A different kind of tragedy, but the same pain and loss. Heartache is all around us. Let us be agents of healing instead of hurt.