Good evening my dear readers,
A blessed Good Friday to all. I hope that everyone is spending a good time with their families and loved ones as we remember the Lord’s ultimate sacrifice this day.
Unfortunately, a tragic event occurred just a few days ago which has probably scarred the hearts of many, especially those who walk in the faith, whether it be Protestants or Catholics. Notre Dame, the famous cathedral in France, caught fire, resulting in a twelve hour long battle against the monstrous inferno. The damage was immeasurable, the iconic spire toppling like a bundle of chopsticks.
The French have mourned this loss. The world has mourned this loss. I suspect that God Himself would mourn this loss as well. Such a magnificent construction of beauty and grandeur, built by a group of determined people who came together to honour our Lord and Saviour. Over a century in the making, the cathedral has stood the tests of time and tribulation, surviving desecration during the French Revolutionary Wars as well as many troubling moments in the country’s history such as the two World Wars. Yet, a simple accident, as the media allegedly reports it, during renovation works caused the downfall of this temple of God.
A commentator placed it quite aptly. He lamented about how we have failed, in recent years, even with our momentous leaps in engineering and technological advancements, to construct anything that rivals Notre Dame, or any piece of stunning architecture in particular. We stand on the shoulders of giants. And even then, after being passed down this sacred heirloom by our ancestors, we have failed to keep it safe and protected. It shows much of our incompetence and ungratefulness of the things we have.
However, this article is not about sadness and bitterness, though I must admit, I was consumed by such feelings when I first heard about the news. Instead, I will be expanding on a sermon I heard today in my church which fits quite nicely with the burning of Notre Dame as well as Holy Week.
Firstly, when Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, he was faced with the humongous obstacle of the Red Sea, blocking the path of escape from Pharaoh's army. The Red Sea would be the death and destruction for the Israelites, boxing them in like trapped mice as the rumbling thunder of hooves and chariots was soon approaching them. Yet, God caused the Red Sea to be parted as Moses lifted his staff, allowing His people to cross unharmed. When Pharaoh's army crossed, the sea came crashing down on them, smiting them down once and for all.
Secondly, when the Israelites went to war with the Philistines, the Philistines produced their champion, the giant Goliath. He towered over King Saul’s army, the soldiers trembling in their boots at the sight of this monstrosity. No one dared to go against him, for he embodied the very essence of death and destruction of Israel. Yet, it was David, a lone shepherd boy, that took a sling and a stone, knocking Goliath down to the ground, and with Goliath’s own sword, he was defeated. This then propelled David into honour, leading him on his journey to become king over Israel and a man after God’s own heart.
Thirdly, when our Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to that treacherous Cross on Golgotha, his followers and disciples watched in horror as their saviour was subjected to such a humiliating and painful death. The Devil had seemingly won, he was about to destroy the Messiah and humanity’s hope for a better future. Yet, He was meant to die at that Cross, in order that he would be resurrected on the third day, fulfilling the sacrifice needed to cleanse all of man’s sins. Satan was once again unsuccessful at thwarting the plans of God as Jesus had successfully conquered death and destruction itself.
What do all these three examples allude to? The Red Sea, Goliath and the Cross. All three were the symbols of death and destruction. However, they were the very objects that God used to save His people. The Red Sea consumed the Egyptians and the Israelites were able to freely journey to the promised land. Goliath was killed by his own weapon wielded by David and Israel saw the birth of their greatest king to rule over them. The Cross was where our Lord Jesus Christ bled and died in order to give us the eternal gift of salvation and redemption in our Father’s eyes.
Now, we come back to the fires of Notre Dame. How do we as Christians recover from such a blow to Christendom? How do we as Christians, an ever dying and persecuted race, recover from the attacks within our own strongholds of faith? It is the trials of these very fires, these hardships and struggles that stoke the flames of man, that reignite the passion for God.
God’s sovereignty is all mighty and powerful and our greatest minds will never expect to even fathom what His ultimate plan holds for the world. But we will do well to rest easy in His infinite grace and mercy. The tragedy of Notre Dame is a blow to all the believers’ souls yet we only need to remember that such adversity produces fortitude. We now see countless numbers of Parisians in public squares praying and singing hymns of worship, not to mention the billions of donations pouring in over the past few days for the reconstruction of the cathedral (though for some reason this generosity of the people has created backlash from the media which is simply quite ridiculous but that is a story for another time).
However, there is one thing to recover from a tragedy and there is another coming out from it stronger. Notre Dame will probably be rebuilt in the time to come, there is no doubt about that. But ultimately, Notre Dame is a building. For the “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;” (Acts 17:24). Alas, this is by no means saying that Notre Dame should be discarded to a side and left to smother in its ashes. On the contrary, it should be restored to its former glory as soon as possible. But what use is Notre Dame if it is only a symbol of ‘cultural heritage’, as the secularits so put it, but not a symbol of the Almighty Christ? Will the French realise how fragile their faith is in these turbulent times, as was the cathedral in the mercy of that blazing inferno, and return to their Saviour? Or will they brush this event to a side and carry on with their heathistic lifestyles as the country, and much of the Western world, drift further and further away from God?
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16) We are the living embodiments of Christ and it would do us well to remember that. As we carry on through Holy Week and remember our great Lord’s sacrifice and resurrection, we must do well to live out the righteous life God has commanded us, walking in Jesus’ footsteps and honouring Him through our daily doings. We can only hope that this fateful incident of Notre Dame will be the catalyst needed to restart the great awakening of the people back to God, as people from all around the world come to the sudden realisation that the end times draw ever so near.
As such, I beg of you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for the believers around the world, especially the persuceted. Pray that we shall triumph over death and destruction as our Lord Jesus Christ did at the Cross. And pray that we will live to see His kingdom be restored on earth.
Until then, it has been an utmost pleasure.
God bless.
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“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:14-18)
