It's the end of the world as we know it-or is it?

As I write this post, I am sitting in a hotel at 5:00 in the morning in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Given my utter disregard for common sense which tells me that I shouldn't write about heavy topics on three and a half hours of sleep, I proceed to go against my better judgment to write about the cover of the April 3rd edition of Time Magazine which reads "Be worried. Be very worried." The magazine then goes on to tell us exactly why we should be worried-namely global warming and nuclear proliferation in Iran.

Now I admit that these are frightening issues that should be taken seriously by our politicians. I am certainly not one to disregard the nearly unanimous consensus of the scientific community (at least according to Time Magazine and ABC news). But I can't help thinking to myself "Where is God in all this?" I remember the days of my early childhood when we used to sing a song called "He's got the whole world in His hands" at revival meetings. I wonder if we American Christians still believe that to be true.

It seems that the idea of the providence of God for His creation is a little out of fashion these days. When we read the headlines that the human race just might be on the verge of extinction, we are apt to believe it. Now don't get me wrong. To be sure, I believe that, as Christians, we are to be "salt and light in the earth" and are never to disregard our responsibility to take care of God's creation and restrain evil doers in the world. I also believe that things are going to get worse before they get better. (That is-unless Jesus was mistaken when He talked about the Great Tribulation in Matthew 24. Fat chance on that one.) But let's remember that the same God who created the earth, the stars, and the galaxies is the same God who sustains them. I hardly believe that the same God who parted the Red Sea, turned water into wine, and sent a fish to swallow up Jonah is suddenly going to take a vacation and allow us poor misguided humans to wipe out our own existence by driving SUV's. To all my liberal friends who may be reading this article, please note that I am not saying that our government should reject Kyoto or forget about greenhouse gases. To be honest, since my scientific and political knowledge is limited, I am not really sure what should be done about global warming and nuclear proliferation. I'll leave the answers for these issues to the scientists and the politicians of our day. All I am saying is that the same God who left heaven, came to earth, and defeated the powers of evil through the resurrection of Jesus Christ deserves a little more credit than what we give Him in our daily headlines.