“Hail, fire and blood”

2020 “By His Blood” Lent devotion #40

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. (Revelation 8:7)

Natural disasters, taking their toll on the earth, are always portents of the end, for this world as we know it will not last forever. Violent hail storms move across the heartland destroying crops. Fires burn out of control, wiping out millions of acres of forested areas. When these things happen, there are always lives that are lost, too. Blood is always mixed in. 

Just as we do, the created world around us waits and yearns to be set free from the calamity that sin has caused. It will happen. We just don’t know when. We don’t know when Christ will return. No one does. 

But these kinds of events are signs that there is an end and that he will come and  meant to move us to repentance. They are meant to wake us up and focus our attention on Jesus who is the only one who can rescue us from a world falling apart at the seams. 

Do you need a wake-up call? Probably. Most likely you take a lot for granted. Jesus loves you too much to let you do that. He gives us  birds and flowers to remind us we don’t have to worry about what we’ll eat or wear. He gives us storms and fires to remind us we need a Savior. And he gives us his word to remind us that he is the Savior, Christ the Lord. 

Thanks for the wake-up call, Lord. I needed that. Amen.