Creation Groans

Romans 8:19-24 says:

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.

The closer to the end of time we get, the more intense the earth's groans become. I believe that's what we're seeing with earthquakes and tsunamis like Japan just experienced. I believe this verse not only suggests that natural catastrophes will increase as the end draws closer, but that the church will rise to the occasion. These disasters give us an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the hurting and the suffering. The world waits in eager expectation to see this happen. As we reach into the devastation caused by the curse of sin upon our broken world and see it's affect on the innocent, we cry out in earnest, "Even so Lord Jesus - Come quickly!"