Over the past three months, the headlines have reported on no less than five earthquakes – one in western Japan, one in Queens, New York, one in one in Los Angeles, California, one in Taiwan, and this morning, one in Lebanon, New Jersey.
Sadly, any toll in human lives is tragic. Eight people died in the Japanese quake; as did nine more in the Taiwan quake. My heart goes out to the families and communities where these losses occurred. Still, the loss of life reported in these two instances is far, far less than in prior years. By comparison, the last big quake in Taiwan, which occurred twenty-five years ago, took the lives of some two thousand, four hundred people.
What is more, as earthquakes go, most of these have done comparatively little property damage. We are told that the chief reason for this is that such large death tolls in the past have led to changes in building codes. The result is that more and more buildings constructed in recent years have been able to withstand much of the destructive forces unleashed by earthquakes.
One such example is a ten story building in Taiwan. According to one news story:
In the wake of Thursday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, "the precariously leaning 10-story Uranus Building quickly became a symbol of the tragedy," reports Nikkei Asia. But the fact that it's standing at all is a sign of just how well prepared the country was for a major quake, argues the New York Times.
A fire official in Hualien tells Reuters the building had consisted of a basement level and nine above-ground floors; "the first and second floors are now underground," he said.
And yet it "remained largely intact, allowing residents to climb to safety out the windows of upper stories," per the Times, which delves into the steps Taiwan has taken since it first accounted for earthquake resistance in its building codes in 1974.
Sadly, any toll in human lives is tragic. Eight people died in the Japanese quake; as did nine more in the Taiwan quake. My heart goes out to the families and communities where these losses occurred. Still, the loss of life reported in these two instances is far, far less than in prior years. By comparison, the last big quake in Taiwan, which occurred twenty-five years ago, took the lives of some two thousand, four hundred people.
What is more, as earthquakes go, most of these have done comparatively little property damage. We are told that the chief reason for this is that such large death tolls in the past have led to changes in building codes. The result is that more and more buildings constructed in recent years have been able to withstand much of the destructive forces unleashed by earthquakes.
One such example is a ten story building in Taiwan. According to one news story:
In the wake of Thursday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, "the precariously leaning 10-story Uranus Building quickly became a symbol of the tragedy," reports Nikkei Asia. But the fact that it's standing at all is a sign of just how well prepared the country was for a major quake, argues the New York Times.
A fire official in Hualien tells Reuters the building had consisted of a basement level and nine above-ground floors; "the first and second floors are now underground," he said.
And yet it "remained largely intact, allowing residents to climb to safety out the windows of upper stories," per the Times, which delves into the steps Taiwan has taken since it first accounted for earthquake resistance in its building codes in 1974.
Kudos to all those who understood the danger and took the appropriate steps to ensure that this structure, along with numerous others like it erected all across Taiwan, were all able to stand when the inevitable onslaught occurred. Such measures no doubt account for the drastic reduction in loss of life figures.
As I read these accounts, I could not help but reminded of Jesus’ admonition in His famed “Sermon on the Mount” recorded in chapter 7, verses 24-27, of the New Testament Gospel of Matthew:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
To my knowledge, over the years, I have lived through three earthquakes. Only one was truly noticeable to the senses. Thankfully, all three were negligible in their effects.
But while I have had little actual experience with the earth itself quaking underneath me, I have had lots of experience with what might be called earth-shattering events. By this, I mean that I have seen the fierce onslaught of damage that life so often seems to throw at men and women.
But I have also seen one other thing. Time and again, I have witnessed people who took the wise precaution of building their lives upon Jesus still standing after just such an onslaught. True, they may have suffered terribly, been injured, or even been even left somewhat askew as a result of the experience, but they were still standing in the end!
Why? Because they had built their lives upon the only proper foundation, the only truly Solid Rock – the One and Only Son of God, Jesus Christ.
By the way, this is not only I have seen in the lives of others; it is also something I have experienced personally. For I, too, have had my share of jolting experiences in life. I, too, have found myself being shaken to the very core by certain of life’s difficulties. And yet, my testimony, like that of so many others who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ is this: “I’m still standing!”
By God’s grace, by God’s power, by God’s help, I’m still standing.
The same can be true for you, my friend. As the Apostle John puts it (in chapter one, verse twelve) in his New Testament Gospel: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power…” Power to be born again, power to live a full and meaningful life, power to stand, no matter what one might face in life – all these things are available through Christ Jesus!
NEWS SOURCES:
https://www.newser.com/tag/23658/1/earthquake.html;
https://www.newser.com/story/348639/that-this-building-didnt-fall-is-a-testament-to-taiwan.html.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/7.htm;
https://biblehub.com/kjv/john/1.htm.
As I read these accounts, I could not help but reminded of Jesus’ admonition in His famed “Sermon on the Mount” recorded in chapter 7, verses 24-27, of the New Testament Gospel of Matthew:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
To my knowledge, over the years, I have lived through three earthquakes. Only one was truly noticeable to the senses. Thankfully, all three were negligible in their effects.
But while I have had little actual experience with the earth itself quaking underneath me, I have had lots of experience with what might be called earth-shattering events. By this, I mean that I have seen the fierce onslaught of damage that life so often seems to throw at men and women.
But I have also seen one other thing. Time and again, I have witnessed people who took the wise precaution of building their lives upon Jesus still standing after just such an onslaught. True, they may have suffered terribly, been injured, or even been even left somewhat askew as a result of the experience, but they were still standing in the end!
Why? Because they had built their lives upon the only proper foundation, the only truly Solid Rock – the One and Only Son of God, Jesus Christ.
By the way, this is not only I have seen in the lives of others; it is also something I have experienced personally. For I, too, have had my share of jolting experiences in life. I, too, have found myself being shaken to the very core by certain of life’s difficulties. And yet, my testimony, like that of so many others who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ is this: “I’m still standing!”
By God’s grace, by God’s power, by God’s help, I’m still standing.
The same can be true for you, my friend. As the Apostle John puts it (in chapter one, verse twelve) in his New Testament Gospel: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power…” Power to be born again, power to live a full and meaningful life, power to stand, no matter what one might face in life – all these things are available through Christ Jesus!
NEWS SOURCES:
https://www.newser.com/tag/23658/1/earthquake.html;
https://www.newser.com/story/348639/that-this-building-didnt-fall-is-a-testament-to-taiwan.html.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/7.htm;
https://biblehub.com/kjv/john/1.htm.