1980
Dan Kunz
Do you remember 1980? Of course, you must have significant “miles on your tires” to do that! Even if you weren’t alive then or were too young to remember much, a really, really significant event happened that year. No, I’m not talking about the so-called “Miracle on Ice”, the upset defeat of the Soviet hockey team (primarily grown men who were, for the most part, professionals) by a bunch American college and amateur players. Heavy underdogs, the Americans pulled off a 4-3 upset which became the stuff of legends. This past Sunday, the U.S, Olympic hockey team won gold for the first time since 1980! Bravo! What I’m referring to took place three months later in 1980, on May 18. That event, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, in the state of Washington, revealed two important facts – God is breathtakingly powerful and physical change in the structure of the earth doesn’t necessarily take millions and billions of years!
While surfing Prime TV for something relatively worthwhile to watch, I came across a documentary series called Beyond: Is Genesis History? The particular episode I stumbled upon was about that significant event from 1980. I’m not a scientist (and I don’t play one on TV), but the primary person being interviewed, geologist Steve Austin is. Without making any attempt to pretend I can explain earth science or geography, I would strongly urge you, if possible, to research the effects of that fateful day. As the events of that day unfolded, and in some cases, years later, changes came upon the landscape which were beyond belief. As Steve Austin explained them, the eruption of Mount St. Helens made changes to the earth in moments, days or weeks, which scientists believed would take thousands or even millions of years to happen. Stratification or layering of sediment happened amazingly quickly. Mud cut ravines hundreds of feet deep in solid rock in a couple of days! We accept the account of Genesis by faith, it’s true, but it’s also nice to know that what man thinks happened and what God knows happened are very different. The Book of Genesis is history.
Another revelation from Mount St. Helens is God’s unimaginable power. It is often described as the most disastrous volcanic eruption in United States’ history. The eruption caused at least 57 deaths, nearly $4 billion in damage in today’s value, spewed ash 70,000 feet in the air, disrupted airline travel for days, and damaged or destroyed nearly 4 billion board feet of lumber. The blast released approximately 1,600 times the amount of thermal energy of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima! I could go on and on with the details of destruction and change, but you get the idea. If you were alive then, you probably remember the photos of plumes of ash rising twelve miles into the air. Incredible!
If you are not one of God’s dearly beloved children, that should “scare the pants off you”, as my grandma used to say. God is not to be trifled with or underestimated. Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. To be sure, whatever a man sows, he will also reap. On the other hand, if you are reading this, you probably are one of God’s dearly beloved children, and such unequaled power should comfort you. God can and will use that mountain-destroying power to guard you, protect you, and bring you to your everlasting home. Jesus gave a display of that power by rising from the dead. Because of his redemptive work, you will some day be in the presence of the one who wields such amazing power for you!