Christchurch Earthquake Relief Journal (Day 10)

We shared in a lovely time of worship this morning, led by Major Daryl Crowden. He spoke of his experience talking to a man in Rwanda who survived been hacked by a machete. Despite the horror of his experience the man read the 23rd Psalm with such power and passion as the words took on a new depth coming from someone who had experienced such pain. This was a powerful reminder that even in the darkest of circumstances we can offer assurance and hope that comes from Christ, even as Christchurch experiences their own valley of pain. We then concluded by singing "It is well with my soul" - a very appropriate start to the day.

During the time of briefing someone raised the question from a conversation the day before, where she was asked, "where is God in all this?" A difficult question in a time of extreme human suffering. The response offered was sensitive and pastorally responsive, suggesting that God is in those who are reaching out with care and love.

As I reflected on the question further, I recalled a line from a movie where a very cynical Al Pacino described God as "an absentee landlord". One may be forgiven for thinking this way amidst the aftermath of an earthquake. But when you consider the relationship between a landlord and tenant, there is an alternative way of looking at it. A landlord entrusts his/her property to a tenant to care for and live in. There are certain boundaries established and guidelines to protect this relationship and the property that is being leased. The landlord does not dictate how the tenant lives, nor is responsible for the tenants behaviour. Suppose the tenant abuses this relationship of trust and ignores the lease agreement, damages the property and then complains that it is not functioning as it ought. There is a similarity between the Creator God who provides His creation a world in which to live. He entrusts it to our care and sets boundaries and guidelines for its protection and sustainability. Over thousands of years of occupancy human beings have managed to ignore God's instructions and abuse what has been entrusted to us. Laws of nature are defied; greed and power prevails and we arrogantly live as if there are no consequences - then we blame God for the world not functioning as it ought! This is NOT to suggest for a moment that natural disasters are a punishment inflicted by God, rather cause and effect reactions of a fragile earth. There are many things that cannot be easily answered, if at all, but it stands to reason that much of the suffering we see around our world today is more about negligent tenants than an absentee landlord. Just a thought.