We often pride ourselves on the fact we have lots of knowledge—even foreknowledge—of what God is and will be doing in the realm of mankind. We have glimpses into the identity of the Beast, the False Prophet, the King of the North and the King of the South. We know that things will get really bad before the end of this age.

However it grates on me when at a time of great calamity, terrorism, natural disaster or loss of life that some are quick to pontificate, “There it is! Prophecy is being fulfilled!” Lively discussion ensues as speculation of what exactly in the Bible this particular catastrophe might refer to while we simultaneously watch televised reports of horror, misery and grief in the lives of thousands and even millions of people.

The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for all things. There is an appropriate time to proclaim. There is a time to mourn and weep. As Christians we need to be sensitive to how we act and react.

The prophets of old, while bold in proclaiming the downfall of Israel and other nations because of their sins, were compassionate and grieving when the predicted consequences actually occurred.

Jeremiah—the prophet who predicted Jerusalem’s downfall—also wrote the five-chapter book of Lamentations, which speaks of the horror and grief of the fulfillment of his other prophecies. Lamentations is not a judgmental diatribe stating, “See, I told you so.” No, it is an outpouring of compassion for the victims of the ruthless invasion: “My eye overflows with water, because the comforter, who should restore my life, is far from me...They have heard that I sigh, but no one comforts me” (Lamentations 1:16, 21).

I’m happy to see after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that so many in the Church reached out in prayer and compassion to the Japanese people. This was not a time to proclaim that God has come to “shake the earth ter- ribly” and other earthquake prognostications. This was a time for compassion. I have a good friend in Japan who has writ- ten to me voluminously about the human
toll of the tragedy. The Church has taken a collection through LifeNets and the Good Works Program to help a few of the hundreds of thousands affected. This was the right thing to do at this time.

An important aspect of our Christianity is to know when to proclaim and when to be like Jesus, who knowing that Jerusalem would be destroyed, wept because of what was going to happen: “He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:41-42).

A Christian is not noted for his intellectual prowess—it’s his love that carries meaning. “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corin- thians 13:2).