Romans 8:18-25 Corrupted Creation Series

Romans 8:18-25

Corrupted Creation

Our family moved to Queensland in 1979 when I was in Grade 5.

We moved to Brisbane.

One of the things that stuck out to us

a strong memory I have from my childhood

is that when we arrived

people talked about

1974.

1974.

What happened in 1974?

Now I wasn’t in Brisbane in 1974

I was just a young kid in Adelaide in 1974.

So I never saw those 1974 floods.

But after we moved to Qld in 1979

we never stopped hearing about the 74 floods

even though it was a full 5 years after the event!

The number – 1974

it became synomous with the word “apocalypse” for Queenslanders.

It was the bogeyman

the ultimate disaster

1974 became almost mythical in character.

The big fear.

And what have we seen this last week?

1974.

Except I suppose now 1974 won’t be referred to as much anymore

1974 will be replaced by

20-11.

A future generation of Brisbanites and Queenslanders

will grow up in fear of that dreaded number

- 20-11.

Friends we have experienced unbelievable scenes this week.

This time last week

we thought Queensland had been through the wringer

Chinchilla flooded

Bundaberg flooded

Rocky flooded

an area greater than France and Germany combined

- under water.

a disaster.

.

But this time last week we couldn’t have imagined that what had happened up to then

was only the tip of the iceberg.

Who can forget those images from Toowoomba

of that wall of water streaming through the CBD

tossing cars around like matchbox cars.

It looked like something out of a Hollywood movie

it was hard to believe it was real.

Who can forget the tragedy of the Lockyer Valley?

Towns like Grantham, Helidon, Murphy’s Creek?

Virtually swept away

houses uprooted and carted for miles

- with people in them.

Unimaginable scenes.

And that wasn’t all.

Ipswich, then Brisbane

hit by 1974 type floods.

1974.

20-11.

The state is in shock

The nation is in shock.

I personally am in shock.

And we’ve got the world’s attention

Headlines on BBC, CNN

those with friends and family overseas

have no doubt been contacted by them

asking if we are okay.

And in the midst of it all

we’re aware that something is wrong.

Where did all this water come from?

What has gone wrong?

Nature

the clouds, the rain

those things that are supposed to feed us

keep us alive

by making our crops grow

have instead unleashed their fury on us.

the rain that should be feeding us

is killing us.

What is wrong?

What has gone wrong with the creation?

Why is the creation corrupted?

And you know

for us

this disaster

is shockingly close to home.

Floods aren’t new

Last year who can forget the massive floods in Pakistan

where 2000 perished

And even now

while Brisbane floods

Rio de Janiero is also flooding

and over 500 people have perished.

But as tragic as the floods in Pakistan are

and the one in Rio at the moment

as tragic as volcano eruptions in Indonesia

earthquakes in Haiti and Chile

we watch those on the news

but they are unfamiliar places

they are unfamiliar people.

But our floods

they are close to the bone.

Most of us have been to Toowoomba

many of us have walked those streets where the flash floods were.

Someone in our church

was telling me they’d been in that very spot only a few days before the flood hit.

Most of us have driven the Warrego Hwy between Brisbane and Toowoomba

we’ve passed through towns like Grantham and Helidon.

And most of us

perhaps all of us

know someone in Toowomba or the Lockyer Valley

or Bundy or Rocky

or one of the other many places affected.

And most of us probably know someone

in Brisbane.

Some, like me

have lived in Brisbane for many years

to see familiar sites,

even suburbs where I’ve lived,

under water

to hear of friends, my sister

affected.

It hits home.

And it hits home even more

because we too here in Gympie

were in the middle of it as well.

We’ve been affected too

we saw the Mary River rise

to almost a km wide.

Something is wrong with the creation.

Who’s fault is it?

Who was responsible?

Anna Bligh said,

"Mother Nature has unleashed something shocking out of the Toowoomba region,"

and then after the waters in Brisbane started to subside she said:

"I hope and pray that Mother Nature is leaving us alone for us to get on with the job of cleaning up and recovering,"

So was it Mother Nature that is responsible for all this?

Others said that we are in the lap of the gods.

Was it the weather gods that were responsible?

Others said the floods are of biblical proportions.