How Long Will Your Window of Opportunity Be Open?
A commentary by Edmond D. Macaraeg
United Church of God pastor, the Philippines
Two crises are looming in the Philippines. And the window of opportunity
to solve each could be slammed shut at any moment.
In recent weeks, Philippine officials have been grappling with two major
evacuations. The first is from a potential natural disaster, the second
from a very real man-made calamity. The second one might even be called
a reverse exodus. In both evacuations none of the victims has
any control over the situation.
The first crisis is the natural result of the Philippines being situated
along the Pacific Ring of Fire (a 40,000-kms-long zone of frequent earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean). The
second is the problem of evacuating Filipino citizens from war-torn Lebanon.
The Philippines has 22 volcanoes. Some are still active. In 2001 Mt.
Pinatubo erupted. Reputed to be the worst volcanic eruption in the past
800 years, it spewed 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the air causing
even the earth's temperature to temporarily drop by half a degree
Celsius. That explosion killed about 300 people, displaced 1.3 million
farmers and buried 98,600 hectares of farmland. It also caused 4 billion
pesos (or US$78 million) worth of infrastructure damage.
Right now, the Mayon volcano—reputed to have the most perfect
cone structure in the world, with a record 47 eruptions since 1616—has
been spectacularly spewing 1,000-degrees-Celsius lava down its slopes,
and shooting ash up to 800 meters into the air. Philippine volcanologists
expect a major eruption any time soon. So the government has declared
an eight-kilometer radius off-limits zone to all area inhabitants.
In a worst case scenario, the government expects to evacuate as many
as 75,000 people. However, there are always those who won't leave.
In its last major explosion in 1993, at least 77 persons were killed
because they refused to evacuate.
The second evacuation, and undoubtedly the more expensive presently
being undertaken by the government (with 7.4 billion pesos allocated—about
US$144 million), is to bring home all threatened Filipino workers in
Lebanon. Because the Philippines supplies manpower globally, the government
estimates about 30,000 Filipino workers are in that area. This estimate
is also can be found at www.ofw.balita.ph, a
website designed especially for overseas Filipino workers.
Earlier in the war it was easier and simpler for workers to escape out
of Lebanon. In fact, most Filipino workers at that time left for home
through the corridors of Israel. But as the war has progressed, more
roads and bridges have become impassable. A longer route, used for three
weeks, was through Damascus. But officials, with the bridge to Damascus
now destroyed, must now consider the sea route to Syria and the alternate
eight-hour sea route to Cyprus. They will then be airlifted, or transported
in specially contracted sea vessels, back to the Philippines. For them,
returning home is becoming increasingly more difficult, lengthy, expensive
and dangerous.
Is there a personal lesson we can learn from these events? In any calamity
or disaster, whether natural or man-made, every second counts. Also,
in our personal and spiritual lives, we should not think that we have
all the time in the world. We should get our spiritual houses in order
before that small window of opportunity for escape completely eludes
us.
Consider the trends in this world! Sooner or later, events like those
facing tens of thousands of overseas Filipino laborers, or even worse
disasters, will affect the lives of all of us. Many authorities already
see the handwriting on the wall. This present civilization, as we know
it, is inexorably speeding—day by day, hour by hour—toward
the worldwide crisis that Jesus Christ predicted. Of that time He prophesied, "For
then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the
world until now—and never to be equaled again" (Matthew 24:21,
New International Version).
You cannot afford to turn a blind eye to what is happening or to what
lies ahead. The choices you make will surely affect not only your life
but also the lives of your loved ones. Don't allow that narrow
window of opportunity for making the right choices to slam shut on you!
  For
a better understanding of what lies ahead and how to properly prepare
yourself for the events that are prophesied, just request or download
now your copies of our free and informative booklets: Are We
Living in the Time of the End? and Transforming
Your Life.
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