Jesus teaches that nature’s misfortunes are not the will of God, but the handiwork of the ruler of this world. Birth defects, accidents, and natural disasters arise from an innate disordering of creation that God is in the process of straightening out. In Mark 13:8, Jesus cites earthquakes as labor pains of age to come: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
This age to come will be when Christ returns and breaks the universe’s bondage to decay, or entropy, as he presides over the “renewal of all things” (Matthew 19:27). The whole universe will share the resurrection on this final Easter morning, when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” as Isaiah 11:9 reveals.
With a firm foundation of faith in Christ, we have nothing to fear from the earth’s labor pains. Labor pains hurt, but they bring the exhilarating joy of new life, whether in the form of a gurgling baby or a peaceful earth that no longer endures 4,000 earthquakes a day.