Luke 13:1-5  ¹Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

This passage of scripture has come to mind several times over the past year or so.  Mainly trying to make sense of Covid-19 and what all that brought about – especially so many people dying from it.  I’ve asked all the ‘why’ questions and gone through every emotion in the book: fear, anxiety, anger, disbelief, doubt . . .  and the list could go on.   Then today I hear of a condo collapsing in south Florida and some people were killed.  That really made me think again of this scripture because it talks about a tower falling on people.  I guess the point to think about is none of us really know when or how we will die – we just know we will.  We tend to hope later than sooner for sure.  And this is what Jesus is saying to the people. He mentioned two disasters – one an evil done by the hand of man and the other was seemingly a natural disaster. Things happen – not because some people are worse than others or because they are being punished but just simply things happen. 

Hurricanes – Disease – Murders – Tornados – Cancer – Car Wrecks – Tsunami – Freak Accidents

The bible tells us our days are numbered.  Job 14:5 says “A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”  Psalm 139:16 says “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”   Jesus turned his focus from the question “why did this happen?” and turned it to the question, “what does this mean to me?” We all may die at any time, so repentance must be top priority. Those who died in these two instances probably did not think they would die soon, but they did, and we can suppose that some of them were not ready. Jesus’ heart here for the people is saying repent, believe in Me, believe that I died on the cross for you and if you do, you will not perish but have everlasting life no matter when or how your last day on earth will be. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. Are you ready?