Why Live There?
As I heard of another earthquake in Alaska, it made me wonder why people want to live there. A major earthquake caused millions in damage and killed hundreds of people in 1964 and they have brutally cold winters. Surely people could move to a place that doesn’t have the earthquake threat and a milder climate?
Similar thoughts cross my mind when I see coastal storms wash away homes and businesses. Everything people have can be lost, including their lives, yet people pay exorbitant prices to live on or near the seashore. Why don’t the people move away from the threat and live in peace and safety? Much like Joplin Missouri, wiped out by a tornado, people live under that annual threat for some reason.
I thought the same when my friends said they would return to South Africa. Why would they purposely go to such a dangerous place, where the crime rate is so high and home invasion is a common occurrence? Another friend moved to Mexico City, to live and operate his business. Yes, his wife is Mexican, but that doesn’t afford protection from criminal violence, drug cartels or corrupt government officials.
I am sure people have good reasons for living in each of these locations. I have friends that love living in Alaska, with all of its natural beauty and the “challenges” that come with it. Coastal living is like that for others. They love the beach, seafood, the water and everything that goes with it. Another reason to live “in danger” is because it is home. Their family lives in that area and that is the life they know. The danger just comes with the territory.
Dyoko Waluyo moved to Mexico for a different reason. He was raised a Muslim in Indonesia, but got miraculously saved and has a burden for souls. As a successful businessman who travels back to Indonesia to buy merchandise, he does more of GOD’s business than his own. He said “if you are not willing to die for your faith, Muslims won’t listen to you.” He started a Church in his home and founded a Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association chapter in Mexico City.
That is something like why JESUS left His home in Heaven to come down to a troubled place on Earth to live and die. He could have picked a better time and a better place to live for 33 ½ years. He knew the Romans would crucify Him, yet He still came because “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). He did it for us! Only His precious blood could wash away our sins. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 KJV).
Wayne Lance (2017)