The earth is crying out to us

The Earth is crying out to us, in the form of natural disasters, for us to change our ways. Just in Haiti alone, this past year has seen a horrific earthquake followed by months and months of aftershocks, a cholera epidemic, and now a hurricane headed straight for it. Around the globe, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and diseases have made their way into the nightly news almost weekly, it seems.

Why is this all happening? I am not God, or the Pope, or some living saint with divine revelation from God. So my opinion should be taken as that- simply an opinion. Personally, I think God is using these events to show us His power and show us the state of the human race. It is not the end of the world, but a little wake up call for us.

Before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, there was harmony in everything. There was harmony within the human person, between man and woman, between man and God, and between man and nature. Everything was in order and flowed smoothly. Man had dominion over all the created order, man and woman acted as partners in doing God's work, and most importantly man and woman were humbled before God, acknowledged Him as their Creator, and obeyed Him. Life was beautiful. The Earth and everything in it were living out life the way it was created to be by God.

Then the Fall happened. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, wanting to be like Him but without Him. It was the first sin of pride. As a result, the human race lost the grace of living in union with God. This disharmony set off all of the other disharmonies- God told our first parents that men would now have dominion over their wives, that men and women would desire each other over God, and that the earth would now be hard and painful for men to cultivate. The Earth was now pitted against man in disharmony. This is when things like earthquakes, floods, storms, famines, and diseases entered the picture of human history.

So why now is there an increase in all of these things? I think it's so God can remind us of our condition due to Original Sin. To remind us of our sinfulness, of our need for a Savior, of our complete dependence on God for everything, even our very lives. People in our world today have forgotten this; they have made themselves gods and cast off the need for "that religious crap." To be religious in some parts of the country and the world is a synonym for weakness, foolishness, and ignorance. So maybe God is letting the earth cry out to us, hoping we will hear its plea to repent and restore the harmony we once had. Maybe God is letting this happen so that we will realize our littleness and His greatness.

Let's answer that call. Through repenting with a genuine heart, we can regain sanctifying grace and restore that harmony that all of us were created to live in.