This enormous tragedy in Japan has me glued to the TV. It seems there is constantly another factor coming into play making things more and more devastating. I can not fathom what it must be like to be experiencing this first hand and how these people's lives must be so turned upside down at this moment. How do you begin to plan to return to normal living and start over? Even more sad is knowing that most of these people do not know the love of Christ to lean on to get them through this tragedy. I wasn't sure if Buddhism was the major religious practice in Japan, so when I googled it, I saw this on Wikipedia...
Religion in JapanFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
The Nachi Shrine is an ancient site of kami worshipMost Japanese people do not exclusively identify themselves as adherents of a single religion; rather, they incorporate elements of various religions in a syncretic fashion[1] known as shinbutsu shūgō (神仏習合, amalgamation of kami and buddhas?). Shinbutsu shūgō officially ended with the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order of 1886, but continues in practice. Shinto and Japanese Buddhism are therefore best understood not as two completely separate and competing faiths, but rather as a single, rather complex religious system.[2]
Japan grants full religious freedom, allowing minority religions such as Christianity, Islam and Sikhism to be practiced. Figures that state 84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine.[3][4][5][6] About 70 percent of Japanese profess no religious membership,[7][8] according to Johnstone (1993:323), 84% of the Japanese claim no personal religion. And according to Demerath (2001:138), 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha.[9] Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata, Obon and Christmas.
That is beyond sad to me. What do these people have to cling to in a time of tragedy, a time of happiness, a time of anything?? How thankful I am for the love of my God and the growing relationship I have with Him. I have obviously never experienced a tragedy such as this first hand, and hope I never have to, but I'd like to think that I would be able to face it knowing He was by my side.
There are those that are what I call "emotional Christians"..the ones that only cling to God when it's convienient for their needs or if there is a crisis they are facing. I used to be one of those people, so I know what that is like. Kind of like only going to your parents or family when you are in need and not really having a relationship with them otherwise. There is no true foundation to grow a relationship and know each other, and it becomes a one way street of take and no give. I was that person..I would cling to God when things were tough, when I was having an emotional crisis. I think the best example I have of this is when I had 2 miscarriages in the fall of 1999, very close together and both very early in term. I had not been seeking God's will for us and praying for His will for us to grow our family..I just knew I wanted a baby. I was so confused and hurt and, even ashamed, all these feelings you go through when you lose a pregnancy. I sought answers from God then..the usual "why is this happening" and "what have I done wrong"..."am I being punished for my sins?"
I most likely will never know why it happened, but I know I do not believe for a second that I nor Richard were being punished for anything. I do know that I grew as a Christian during that time. I realized that I was walking a one way street that only had a few vendor booths for my time with God and my relationship with Him was starving. I was a junk food Christian that wasn't feeding from the right places.
I don't know why this crisis in Japan is happening..some people say global warming, mother nature (I hate when people refer to that..it doesn't exist!!!), God's judgment...I just know that this could happen to any country..any place. I know where I would be going if faced with this tragedy...and am sad that there are so many that don't.
Mark 13 refers to these things as the beginning of birth pains. Jesus says in Mark 13:37 "What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!"
ReplyDeleteThe time of his return draweth nigh.
Japan, Haiti, Libya, Egypt, Pakistan, and so many others.... it seems that there are so many oppressed right now and so many without the hope of Christ. I am saddened by it too. I can find just enough hope, though, in that God uses these same hard times to try to reach those that don't know Him or need to know Him better for HIS glory in their lives. You and I know this since we pulled closer to Him in the biggest struggles of our lives. And if their struggles are bigger, does that mean that God will respond in an even bigger way? I don't know, but I hope so.
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