God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what He is doing. We're Christ's Ambassadors. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. -- II Corinthians 5:19-20 (The Message)
Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. A couple years ago I read the story of Dr. Paul Farmer's heroic efforts to provide free medical care in Haiti. (Mountains Beyond Mountains
) It was transformational and ever since Haiti has been a place heavy on my heart. Whenever I have fallen into the "I wants" or feeling the need for a big shopping spree or feeling like I have life hard I think of Haiti. When children are stuck eating a little millet seed or flour mixed with dirt and water just to have their tummies not hurt from hunger any more that day, EVERY problem I have pales in comparison. Then, into that abject misery came a monstrous earthquake and within minutes what had been squalor became riches in comparison with what was left in the quake's aftermath.
) It was transformational and ever since Haiti has been a place heavy on my heart. Whenever I have fallen into the "I wants" or feeling the need for a big shopping spree or feeling like I have life hard I think of Haiti. When children are stuck eating a little millet seed or flour mixed with dirt and water just to have their tummies not hurt from hunger any more that day, EVERY problem I have pales in comparison. Then, into that abject misery came a monstrous earthquake and within minutes what had been squalor became riches in comparison with what was left in the quake's aftermath.We stand in a very privileged place. We have been given the fresh start. Even when we are weighed down with our problems and wake up in the morning wishing there were parts of our lives we didn't have to face, those problems are nothing in comparison to what others in places like Haiti or the Congo are facing. We are in the privileged place of knowing we have been forgiven. God HAS blessed us -- almost too much so! We have an obligation, we've been given a task, to show others the same love that we have received. We ARE ambassadors for Christ and we're charged with mediating a peace - in the case of Haiti, a peace between our haves and their have nots.
A year later things are not a lot improved in Haiti. One of the poorest countries on planet earth is just a few hundred miles off this rich country's coastline. There are three relief organizations working relentlessly in Haiti that I trust implicitly: World Vision, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and Partners In Health. Please consider sending one or all of them a donation to help.
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