A few years ago, it was my privilege to speak on the campus
of Toccoa Falls Bible College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.

My host led me along a lovely walkway to the famed
Toccoa Falls, some 186 feet of plunging water. Beautiful...

And, on one night, deadly! Early in the morning of November
6, 1977, a dam just above the falls suddenly ruptured and
in a little over 15 minutes an entire 40-acre lake poured over
the falls at speeds up to 150 miles per hour, flooding the
canyon below.

It wiped out a college dorm, a trailer park for married
students and several college personnel residences. 39
students, children and college leaders drowned in those
awful moments.

The tragic story became headline news across the nation.
Our president at that time was Carter, whose wife rushed
to the campus to help. TV kept a constant watch on the
story. A visiting reporter asked Professor Gerald McGraw
how he could ever vindicate God in the eyes of his students
after such a disaster.

The lanky McGraw replied quietly, "The question has never
come up."

At the memorial service, Dr. Ken Opperman, then president
of the college, preached from Colossians 1:27, "Christ in
you, the hope of Glory. He concluded, "For a Christian, the
most important thing is a relationship with Christ, so that
whether we live or die, we glorify Christ."

Then the huge crowd stood to sing at the conclusion.
"Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed; finding
as He promised, perfect peace and rest."

Paul wrote to Titus that Christians are peculiar people.
Peculiar how? In the way we respond to outside stimuli. In
the way we react to tragedy. In the way we deal with
disaster and death. For us, to live is Christ Jesus! He is our
constant hope.