Fri 15 Jan 2010
How can any compassionate person ignore the cry that comes from Haiti? Humanity is imprisoned on an island of desperation and death as the news outlets continue to overwhelm us with pictures of destruction and despair. Christians are hardwired to respond to calamity with compassionate action because they are like their Father who is benevolent even to His enemies. Catastrophic events like the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, though thousands of miles away, invade our neat and tidy schedules and ram their way to the forefront of our thoughts. We have to do something. We just have to! Even the more calloused residents of this small world dig just a little deeper into their wallets to help in the alleviation of pain. Worldlings cannot help but react to screaming. But Christians respond wisely.
It is now more than ever that we must be wise. We cannot be impulsive and visceral in our donations. It is too human to respond impulsively, and mere humans have a visceral and impulsive reaction to the catastrophic. But we are more than mere humans; we are also children of the God who prescribed the earthquake for Haiti. We don’t just react; we respond to something we know God ordered. We simply didn’t know when, where, or why; we just know He designed it. Thus, when the cameras have left the island, when the media have moved onto another story, and when the earthquake of 2010 is fading from the top story in the evening news to a bad and foggy memory for armchair philanthropists, those of us who are more than mere humans will still be weeping. And serving. And giving.
It is easy to cry when it is en vogue, when shocking pictures are set before us. The whole world weeps; the whole world reacts. However, it takes a Christian with discipline and love to weep behind the scenes after life moves on. Therefore, it would be very wise of us to realize that the best relief we can offer is long after the impulse has died; it’s when conviction and compassion combine to offer tangible relief that is a fruit of spiritual love. It is more than the reaction of emotional humanity.
Clearly, the need in Haiti is pressing. Now! The first responders are there en masse. They are the professionals, the ‘big boys’ with the sophisticated systems and equipment. At this point we need to let them do their job. First response for something this huge will take days and weeks. Relief, however, will take months and years. Therefore, if we are really compassionate for the Haitians we will not abandon our sense of duty toward them when their plight is no longer on the first page of the morning newspaper. If we really believe in giving relief, a physical Gospel-motivated and Gospel-elevating relief, we will know that our opportunity to bring the cup of cold water has only just begun.
Therefore, I would encourage Christians to invest in relief for Haiti that is both physical and Gospel-oriented. Start planning now on becoming a part of a missionary team to Haiti in the coming summer. Find a specific wall to repair, a specific family to adopt, or a specific home to rebuild and do something that will last by taking the God-given opportunity of disaster and bringing to the targets of his sovereign work both a cup of cold water and a word fitly spoken. To love when others have packed their bags will set us apart from the merely human and rank us with those who are so compassionate they feel pain with the hurting when everyone else has forgotten.
Global Grace, Inc. is doing reconnaissance. In past disasters we have been to places that were on the TV screens for days after the initial crisis, but when it all died down, when insignificant disciples such as we entered into those places weeks and months later we found those places to be still in the throes of the disaster, still aching for relief. Therefore, we are doing reconnaissance now for relief later.. We want to hook up particular churches and people here with specific projects there. We are trying to find that specific wall to rebuild, that specific hungry widow, that specific orphanage now unprotected by walls, or the specific pastor’s home, etc. for our church and other churches here in this country to adopt and own for the sake of bringing both physical and spiritual relief to the needy in Haiti.
Don’t be merely human. Don’t be driven by emotion. Let us all consciously bow our knee to our Sovereign Lord and accept the fact that He has opened a door of utterance in Haiti with this earthquake. Let’s walk in calmly and deliberately and leave the fragrance of Christ. Let’s not lose it in the hubris and hubbub of a panicked world reacting to crises they cannot understand.
We understand this crisis. It is from God. Therefore, we can choose to respond with humility to the millions of still-in-shock victims when the clamoring reactionaries have moved on to the next story. The Church of Jesus Christ is now looking at Haiti with refreshed zeal; certainly God has many people in that place. Let’s plan. And let’s go!
~ Bob Bixby, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Rockford, Illinois
