Tag: Queensland

Floody Brave!

 

Water in the Loddon River has risen higher than the level levees in Kerang were designed to cope with. (ABC Local : Deborah O'Callaghan)

There have been some awful stories coming out of Queensland and Victoria. Heart-wrenching stories. Yet through all the stress and heartbreak, there are stories of incredible heroism and bravery. Like Jordan Rice, who pushed his brother into the arms of SES rescuers, telling them to save him first, only for him to be washed away by the flood waters before they could return to rescue him.

 

Or the town of Warracknabeal in Victoria, who upon hearing that the flood was headed their way, all banded together and built a makeshift levee, to help protect the town. They then proceeded to make repairs during the night, and pump water from overflowed drains back into the river. Their efforts will most likely save a great number of homes that would have been inundated by the floods. At a time when so many people could have been forgiven for packing up as much as they could and running – having seen the terrible devastating effects of the floods in Queensland, this town showed their brave side, took on the flood and saved homes.

I’m sure there will be many more stories of bravery coming out of these floods as we get into the recovery effort. The great thing about Australia is that when people are in need, we band together and help out where we can.

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An interventionist God?

Do we want to use natural disasters as an excuse to judge people, or do we want to use them as a catalyst to spark Christian action, helping those we do not know?

This was a highlighter and uv light image.
I may not believe in an Interventionist God, but I do believe in a God who loves unconditionally (Image via Wikipedia)

The topic from The Daily Post today is a tough one. Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Why or why not? It’s a tough topic to look at, as a Christian.

See, as Christians, we believe that we have free will – God gave us free will, which led to the fall of man, and the need for Jesus to come to forgive all our sins. Yet, God is all-knowing, and all-powerful, and knows what we are thinking before we even think it. So does that change things, for although we have free will, God knows what we’re going to do before we do it.

There are also Christians who believe that God is an interventionist God – basically meaning he is still active and changing things in the world, and others who don’t. I tend to lean towards the non-interventionist God in a way, believing that he’s still active in our lives, but not controlling such things as the weather. This would not sit comfortably with those Christians who believe that the floods in Queensland were a message from God.

So, do things happen for a reason? Yes and no. Some things happen because we cause them – cause and effect. I know that if I pour a beer over someone, I’m likely to get punched in the face. Or if I help someone out who’s struggling with something, I’m likely to get warm fuzzies. However, somethings happen because it’s the way the world is designed, and there’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t stop the wind blowing, the rain raining, or the sun shining (although sometimes I wish its UV was a little less potent to my skin). What we can do is control how we react to these situations. Do we want to use natural disasters as an excuse to judge people, or do we want to use them as a catalyst to spark Christian action, helping those we do not know?

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