And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Where was God? That is the most common question asked after a tragedy, from 9/11 to the latest tragic hurricane in Florida. It is also the hardest question to answer for the Christian, not because the answer is hard to come by but because it is hard to swallow for those who really do not want to know where he is. It seems the 9/11 of the day was the tower of Siloam, possibly part of the Jerusalem wall that fell, and the massacre of Galileans by Pilate long before the crucifixion. The question was not, “Where was God?” but “How sinful were they that they deserved this?” Jesus put a stop to it. They did not suffer for their own sin but for Adam’s.
Where is God? Right here where we are. He is omnipresent in the universe and in our lives. When bad things happen, it is no time to hide our face in despair but to seek the face of the Savior Jesus Christ. Nor is it a time to wonder which sins we are punished for and those we got away with. It is a time to repent and run to the only shelter we have when the world caves in all around us…
He is our strong tower.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church