WE ARE NOT INVINCIBLE
"Humanly speaking, this was a time when God’s glory was discounted, and His people were not a testimony to His great Name."
Sinclair Ferguson’s "Isaac’s Storm" is a very interesting book about the hurricane that wiped out Galveston in 1900. One of the main plot lines of the book is about how everyone was convinced that a hurricane could never strike Galveston, even as one approached.
The author vividly describes how as the streets began to flood people went about their business as if nothing was wrong. Children played in the water, men gathered for breakfast at the local diner, and no one fled from the storm that was about to strike. Some didn’t worry because Isaac Cline, the national weather service officer in Galveston, assured them it would not be a severe storm. Others simply believed that Galveston was invincible. Some thought that since they had never seen a hurricane strike Galveston one never would.
So for a number of reasons, people assured themselves nothing bad would happen. As a result over 6,000 people died one September day in 1900.
Today we can see storm clouds forming on the horizon. There is a moral and spiritual decline that continues to erode our national life. What happened to the great city of Ephesus? Often mentioned in the New Testament, it was one of the cultural and commercial centers of its day. Located at the mouth of the Cayster River, it was noted for its bustling harbors, its broad avenues, its gymnasiums, its baths, its huge amphitheater, and especially its magnificent Temple of Diana.
What happened to bring about its gradual decline until its harbor was no longer crowded with ships and the city was no longer a flourishing metropolis? Was it smitten by plagues, destroyed by enemies, or demolished by earthquakes? No, silt was the reason for its downfall-—silent and non-violent silt. Over the years, fine sedimentary particles slowly filled up the harbor, separating the city from the economic life of the sea traders.
Little evil practices, little acts of disobedience may seem harmless. But let the silt of sin gradually accumulate, and we will find ourselves far from God. Life will be a spiritual ruin.
(From a sermon by Jason Jones, "The Everlasting Sovereign God" 2/25/2009)