Did You Feel It…Did You Expect It?

At 4:37am this morning I was shaken awake by a rare 5.4 magnitude earthquake that was centered about 50 miles from Sesser in southeastern Illinois. I have experienced earthquakes before, and in short order I realized what was happening. Unusual yes, but not unexpected. Not if you know anything about the New Madrid Fault Line which runs through southern Illinois. However, to my surprise, several television news anchors were astonished that southern Illinois could be the epicenter of a quake. One remarked “this just never happens here!” She is surely not a native of the Midwest. It reminds me of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians in the fifth chapter of his second letter, “For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” We know that…just as we know an 8.0 quake is predicted to one day hit the New Madrid Fault Line. Still, when it happens most people will be shocked and I am sure someone will say, “We never expected it to happen here.” I wonder what the response will be when our Lord returns. Unfortunately, I imagine some will say, “We never expected anything like this!”