40 Days towards Easter: Day 14 - War and Starvation ...

Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Good morning! How are you doing today? In the middle of Europe is is difficult these days to be completely ignorant of the war and signs of crisis which are clear on several levels. On the other hand we live in an environment quite well equipped with many things.

This morning, we would like to have a quick look into the understanding of these things from a biblical perspective.

Human History: Expectations and …

The bible does not expect human history to be smooth. When Jesus prepares his disciples for a life after his death, he tells them (Matthew 24):

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth-pains. (Matthew 24, 6-8)

And more than this, in the revelation of John, we read

 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A kilogram of wheat for a day’s wages, and three kilograms of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’ (Rev 6,6)

when it comes to the outcome of war, describing the situation of famine and starvation.

Reality …

When we observe some of the problems today, they definitely reflect what has been prepared about 2000 years ago. War has been present throughout human history until today. Today, we also face rising prices in the presence of war. Hunger and starvation is present again in several countries today. Even in rich countries prices have started to grow strongly, petrol prices have doubled recently in central Europe.

When I read such verses, I am always very careful to use them appropriately. The main point here is to shape our expectations. It is not about a concrete prediction of some event. Our expectations should be aware that war, hunger and catastrophe is part of human existence and it will remain like that. There are many reasons for our problems. One of them is human character! It is our own decisions! Humans bear guilt, and our anger on the death and destruction of innocent people is truthful, it also reflects a part of reality.

Prayer is needed in all of this: Lord, help us! Please grant us your spirit to be present and active in our heart and our mind! Please help us back to peace! (Roland Potthast)