A Tough Year but Great Opportunity

In July, we heard the news about a flood in Texas that caused the deaths of a number of young girls from a camp. Tragedy.

In August, we heard about a school shooting in Minnesota where 2 beautiful children were killed and 18 others, plus 3 adults, were wounded, some critically. Tragedy.

Then in September, we heard the devastating news that Charlie Kirk was assassinated—really, martyred—in Utah. Tragedy.

And of course, we could list many other catastrophic events in America (such as people killed by tornadic outbreaks) and around the world (deaths resulting from earthquakes, floods, and so on). Tragedies.

I can understand why I heard TV hosts and guests crying out over and over again as they struggled to understand where God is in all of this. I can also understand, in a sense, why non-Christians would claim there can’t be a loving God with all this tragedy around the world.

It’s a reminder that this is not a beautiful world. It’s really an ugly world with a remnant of beauty. But this is because we are living in a fallen world as a result of our sin. And the only way we can understand all this is because of what God has revealed in his Word, the Holy Scriptures.

In Luke, Jesus is recorded asking a question:

Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse offenders than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:4–5 LSB)

The question was not “Why did they die?” but “What is going to happen to you when you die?”

Eighteen people died when a tower fell on them. Jesus asked if they died because they were worse sinners than others. His answer was really one word: repent. Why did he answer this way? What he was saying was that, for those 18, this was their turn to die. The question was not “Why did they die?” but “What is going to happen to you when you die?”

As God’s Word states, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 LSB).

In other words, the most important thing for any of us is to make sure we have responded to the gospel and trusted Christ for salvation.

As I often say in my presentations, “The solution to man’s problems in this world has always been and always will be God’s Word and the saving gospel.” And God’s Word explains why we have such an ugly world. It’s not God’s fault—it’s our fault because we sinned in Adam. God loves us so much he provided a solution for our sin in his Son, Jesus.

At Answers in Genesis, we are always looking for ways we can reach more people with the truth of God’s Word and the gospel and ways we can be bolder for the Christian faith. Our guest survey responses reveal that each year, some 100,000 people or more commit their lives to Christ because of their experience at the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum attractions—and that’s not to mention all the other things we do, including our powerful VBS programs and other resources and events, that impact millions more people for Christ.

And we want to expand our reach. This world needs the solution! Our nation needs this solution.

That’s why at the end of each year we put together an end-of-year campaign to raise the resources needed for a variety of projects that will help us impact more people with the gospel. You can find more information about this year’s campaign and other ways you can support us financially at AnswersDonate.com.

Yes, we are doing all we can to proclaim the solution the world needs to as many as we can. But we do need your help to enable us to reach even more people through supporting us in prayer and contributing to our exciting end-of-year campaign.

Visit AnswersDonate.com to learn what we have proposed and how you can partner with us to impact more souls for Jesus.