Thursday 16 August, 2012

13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

In the face of tragedy and disaster, Jesus knows that we have questions and that we get anxious about death and suffering. These are things out of our control.
Jesus emphatically refutes these deaths as being due to worse sin. He contradicts the popular concept of “bad karma” and implores that we accept a way out. He reminds us that there is a level playing field when it c

omes to what we deserve. Without repentance the reality is that we all perish. We all have a choice between 2 things – to repent or perish.
While we can't control tragedy, accidents and disaster, we can control and change our eternal outcome by choosing to accept His gift of eternal life, received when we repent.

Written by Lyndall Gourlay