THE question has been asked about where God was on December 26 and why he allowed the tragedy to happen.

The first thing to remember is you cannot apply human standards to God. The Bible records that he made man in his own image but because man refused to live by God's standards, God regretted his actions and the result was the flood.

He started again with Noah and his family but things went the same old way. After the exodus, he gave the Ten Commandments and warned that he was jealous of his position and would not stand for disobedience and that there should be no other worship than the worship of him.

Yet today we have people telling God, "We like the nice things you have to offer but you cannot rule our lives, we will not allow your principles to be taught in our schools, we will not allow the true Gospel of Jesus to be broadcast on public television but we claim the right to blaspheme your name whenever we feel like it."

God is the most widely used word in this country and it is the most abused. Do you really expect him to spring into action the moment the world runs into difficulty?

Christians should not worry because they and children overtaken by calamity will end up in a better place. When I was a lad the phrase in vogue in such circumstances was "Sudden death - sudden Glory".

Famine, pestilence and earthquakes are all predicted in the Bible when the behaviour of man becomes "as it was in the days of Noah".

Well we are there now and the signs are self evident with man's self indulgence, the practice of perversions and the rejection of God's law.

K Barnes,

North View,

Catterton.

Updated: 10:48 Tuesday, January 11, 2005