Slippage

 

The earth is constantly unstable, the sign reads. Be careful.

The cliffs are crumbling into the ocean, and now companies providing the infrastructure of modern life have cut the water, the gas, and the electricity from multi-million dollar homes perched precariously at the top. A spark occasioned by a slippage started a wildfire there, so the dangers go beyond one or two homes ‘simply’ slipping over the edge into the Pacific.

The city has asked residents to leave. Most refuse.

The area is just a few miles from where I stay when I visit Mom. Because I know the area, my interest is piqued and my concern for those affected is heightened.

Where should those displaced residents go? As their valuable investments become worthless, what should they do? I’m praying for them.

A wealthy homeowner in a story Jesus told built new barns to hold the bounty of his harvest. But within a short space of time, the farmer died. He didn’t live long enough to enjoy his amassed riches.

A stark reminder that money is best invested in others, shared out to people and situations of need or distress.

The earth is unstable, but God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow – the God of love and compassion, mercy and forgiveness. May I invest my time and money today in the people and situations he draws me to, looking upwards and outwards and resisting building myself a castle which tomorrow may crumble.

And may all those who watch helplessly as nature or conflict or mismanagement devour their homes and livelihoods be surprised and comforted by Jesus’ saving grace and love offered through his body here on earth.