Italy Quaking

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Thu, 25/08/2016 - 22:35

I love Italy and Italians. I visit the country every couple of years and it's one of the few countries outside mother England to which I'd consider migrating. They're a cheerful, friendly, stylish, beautiful, playful people. The recent earthquake that destroyed the towns of Arquata, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto in central Italy is therefore all the more tragic. I love the old towns with their piazzas and churches, but these are nothing to the loss of human life. The rescue of a little lass from the rubble today offered one of the few glimmers of hope.

A young Italian man said to ITN's camera that he felt angry with God. I'm not in a position to judge him. I've sometimes been heard to question God's providence for far less serious events than major earth quakes. Nevertheless, even the most assured of Christians will wonder why the created earth would have such apparent imperfections built into it. This is what God said to the first people:

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Genesis 3:17

The ground was cursed because of man's rebellion. This doesn't just refer to the soil which produces thorns and thistles and requires hard work for its tillage, but the rock and tectonic plates on which it sits. God's cursing, or withdrawing His life-giving blessing will only ever result in corruption, destruction and death. The creation is groaning for the sons of God to be revealed, that is, the end of this world and the beginning of the next.

Until such time, I pray God's help on the rescued and their rescuers.