By

Voyle A. Glover

In a faraway land, there slept a group of small children. The night was like any other night and as some lay in their small grass hut, listening to the gentle sounds of the ocean as it lulled them to sleep, some of them giggled about something another said, while others were already fast asleep, too tired from playing all day. And still others continued to play into the evening. In a nearby village, other grass huts also contained small children falling asleep to the same sounds, also wearied from a long day of frolic in the sun and sand. Some villagers mended fishing nets, others tended their gardens and some sat talking of the days events.

The ocean has its own special sound. It is a melodic, rhythmic sound that overwhelms the ordinary sounds of the day or night. Those who live by the sea become attuned to its voice, understanding its messages and interpreting the different tones. But the children had yet to hear all of its voices, all of the different tones.

And none of them, not even the children who were now grown and who'd lived their lives listening to its voice every day had heard the sound it made on this night. The sudden shaking of the ground and the loud bang, followed by what seemed to be a very strange and loud wind went unnoticed by some and those who did were not able to understand its voice. Others who slept, never heard the sound, never knew of the crack that appeared suddenly deep beneath the ocean's surface and never saw the mountain that launched itself at them with the speed of jet and that moved with a roaring voice upon them and the hundreds of sleeping children and the small grass huts that dotted the beach on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The villages of Sissano, Warapu, Arop and Malol lay serene and quiescent beneath the brilliance of thousands of pin points of star lights as this deadly force moved upon them from out of the night.

The three tidal waves that swept into their simple lives caught most of them unawares, though many did hear the strange new voice of the ocean and rush to see its cause, only to flee into the nearby jungle in sheer terror as they saw the black mountain of water rushing down upon them. And afterwards, many of them stayed hidden in the jungles, too fearful to come out, afraid that they'd witnessed the beginning of the end of the world. Some rode the tops of the wave only to be hurled into the trees far from the beach. One man landed in a tree which was then uprooted and hurled further inland by a second and third wave.

"There is no more school. It is closed. There are no more children." The speaker's voice is tired and he speaks with a sadness that no mere words can express. There is a finality in his voice. He has just witnessed an entire generation of his people pass from life to death. He has seen a combined community of five villages with over 6000 stripped of its future. Huts they can rebuild. Crops can be replanted.

Who can replace a generation of children?

On the day after, hundreds of bodies lay floating in the Sissano Lagoon, together with pieces of huts and personal belongings of the villagers. Grief and bewilderment are etched into the faces of these simple folk. They are searching for answers. They do not understand Richter scales. They do not comprehend violent movements of the earth as being a natural phenomena.They only know that thousands of them have gone. They do not know where they have gone. Hope says they have fled into the jungle and are hiding. But the sight of hundreds of bodies, rotting, bloated and being dragged under by crocodiles and eaten dilutes that hope.

It remains to be seen how the people will come to interpret this catastrophe. Much will depend, I believe, on how well the local missionaries respond and how well the local political powers respond. Already, the newly elected Prime Minister Bill Skate has called upon the missionaries and the churches for help. And I am sure they will help as will thousands of people from around the world. Mr.Skate is a kind man and the pain is clearly in his face and voice as he speaks of the events, weary to the bone, feeling overwhelmed by it all.

But what about helping with the answers in the minds and spirits of these folk and others like them in Papua New Guinea? It is not uncommon for some, in their quest for power, to attribute such calamities to God or to blame the Christians for the evil (Nero and a host of others leaders through the centuries have sought to attach such things to Christians and/or God). Far more sophisticated people than these poor folk tried to comprehend such tragedies and failed. In the days of Jesus Christ, the question was put to Jesus from some of them, about a particular catastrophic event. Here's the account as found in the Bible:

Luke 13:1-5:

1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

The Jews tried to get Jesus to acknowledge that this calamity came upon these people because they were bad, because they were great sinners. Jesus clearly told them that they were not singled out because they were great sinners. But then Jesus adds something very interesting. He says: "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Now did Jesus mean that a tower would fall upon them? What did Jesus mean?

The only possible meaning has to be that unless they turn from their sins and turn to God in their lives, that they will also face a calamity, that their end will be a catastrophe, that their deaths will be a tragedy as was that of those Galilaeans, who died suddenly, without God.

The greatest catastrophe that occurs in this life is not the passing of a life, not even that of a child's passing. The greatest tragedy is the passing of a life that has rejected Jesus Christ and has failed and refused to repent of his or her sins. That death is a great catastrophe.

The deaths of the children in Papua New Guinea is a sad event to us. But is it a sad event to the children who died? No. You see, those children who played on the sands of the beaches now play with the angels of heaven and walk streets of gold and have a blanket of pure, sweet love enveloping them continually. They are not sad. They are not weeping. They are not in a grave. They are no longer bound by those bodies. They are now spirit and with Christ.

The real tragedy in Papua New Guinea will be those in the villages and the land who refuse to turn to the God of life, the Christ Who gave Himself for them, and who live and die unconverted and unrepentant towards God. They will perish twice. Their life on earth will end suddenly, and then comes the judgment. Their judgment. And they will perish again. Forever. And that will be the greatest of catastrophes.

Rev 20:11-15:

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The End

copyright 2000