19 November | Youth
«For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them.» 1 Thessalonians 5:3
In December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale caused a tsunami that left more than 230,000 dead in 14 countries, from Indonesia to India. The number could have been higher if it were not for the warning of a ten-year-old English girl called Tilly, who saved around 100 people on Mai Khao beach, in Thailand.
Days before the earthquake, Tilly's geography teacher explained in class how to predict a tsunami. He taught that when the sea water began to recede and the environment became silent and peaceful, it meant that a giant wave would reach the shore. Thanks to the teacher's lesson and the girl's perception, everyone left the beach unharmed minutes before the tragedy.
Just as on the Asian beaches, there will be a period of relative peace and security in the world before the second coming of Jesus. People's speech will be focused on love, fraternity and unity. It seems like an attractive ideology, doesn’t it? However, this scenario will only be an anteroom, the “retreat of the sea” before the apocalyptic chaos that will befall humanity.
It was about this peace that Jesus vehemently warned us: a fake peace, which goes hand in hand with error and which disregards the Lord's warnings. Beware of world peace! Be wary of the tranquility of the “broad path,” the silence and the absence of problems. I learned this when my son Miguel was three years old. When he was not in the room and the room was silent, I knew something was not normal! In this sense, “peace” served as a warning to me.
Unlike that of the world, the peace of Christ promotes “war,” because it does not connive with falsehood. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matt 10:34). This peace is capable of separating friends, expelling moneylenders from the temple and taking Christians to the dungeon.
When everything goes well, you need to review the route. Maybe your faith is in “bain-marie” mode, and you still have not noticed. The “tsunami” is coming, and you are making sandcastles on the beach. Run away from this false peace! Run to Jesus!