"And I [John] heard a loud voice from the throne [heaven] saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away'" (Revelation 21:3-5, niv).

Daily the news media continues reporting more and more tragedies as the Asian Tsunami death toll keeps mounting. Over and over we hear tragic stories about thousands of families being torn apart--grieving children losing parents, heartbroken parents losing children, homes totally destroyed, and despicable evil, criminals kidnapping orphaned children for their loathsome sex trade business. Devastating before and after photos of resorts and villages that have been decimated are also seen.

Where is God at times like this? is a reasonable question to
be sure. Thoughts from Chuck Swindoll written to a friend who asked him the same question help us to understand, to some degree, the dilemma we face. In a nutshell here's how Chuck explained the situation:

A great deal depends on one's perspective. Life can be viewed horizontally or vertically; that is, horizontally from a human point of view or vertically from a divine viewpoint.

Viewed horizontally: It's noteworthy that God gets blamed
by critics [many of whom claim they don't believe in God] who see everything from a horizontal viewpoint. For these people life revolves around themselves. If one says that God has nothing to do with disasters, he will be criticized for being uncaring and uninvolved. If God is a God of love they claim, he is supposed to guard us from all harm, always make us happy, and keep us safe. If one says that God is a caring and loving God, then the humanistic public sees him as cruel and even sadistic because He doesn't stop the disasters.

Viewed vertically: In the beginning, God made all things good--everything remained in that perfect condition until sin entered, polluting and corrupting, not only individual lives, but this earth as well. [Sin's] curse that fell on humanity
as well as nature was devastating in its extent. As a result of sin's universal impact certain realities were set in motion: such as consequences following wrongdoing, human struggles and sicknesses, international conflicts and wars, tragedies and disasters, grief and loss and death, to name only a few. Had sin never entered, none of those things would have existed or been of concern. But because it has, unending litanies of problems have and always will accom-
pany life on this planet. In fact, according to prophetic Scripture, they will increase and intensify until the Son of God returns and takes up his rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords on planet earth.1

Swindoll and other theologians explain the difference between God's directive will and his permissive will. God is still on the throne of the Universe and all things are under the control of his directive will. But because he gave man-
kind a free will to choose his own way, his permissive will allows for the consequences of mankind's actions--hence all the problems mankind is facing today in a world that is plagued by evil.

However, because of God's love he has made a way of escape by giving his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and offer us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven where "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." But that's in heaven and not on earth. As the late Vance Havner used to say in his inimitable Southern style, "This world is a goner. It's a sinking ship. God's goal is not to save the world but to save people out of it [and its devastating consequences because of all the evil in it].