Sometimes we wonder, "What can I do? Am I making any difference in the world?...for the kingdom of God?" There are times when I wonder that, even in our work in Haiti. Does it matter that we go down three or four times a year? Is it a good use of resources?
One of our partners in Haiti, Pastor Antoine was visiting with us here in MI last fall. We were introducing him to our partner churches in the Midwest. In some ways it is heart-wrenching to see the 2 worlds collide. One evening we were at a church and Antoine was sharing his testimony and the story of what God is doing in Haiti. He was so nervous, working hard to explain, in his second language the essence of that story.
At the end of our Q and A time I asked, "Pastor, why is it important for us to come down to Haiti?
He opened his heart and bared his soul with passion as he said, "In Haiti it is hard for people to believe that God loves them. They don't have money to buy food for their family. They can't send their children to school. There is no work for them. In situations like this it is hard to believe God loves you. The people of Haiti feel like they are living in hell. When YOU think about hell it is a place some people go after death. You go to heaven or hell. But in Haiti the people feel like they are in hell now. When you come to Haiti and let the love of God flow through you, then they can believe that God loves them."
Once again I was so humbled. Simply by coming: being their brothers and sisters in Christ, helping to make it possible for children to go to school, to get training for a trade, by worship with them, laughing with them, praying and eating with them, in all these ways we help to bring the love and kingdom of God. This is why we go, why we send, why we care. People living in hell can see that God is real and loves them.
This is the challenge, my friends: to carry the love of God to our family, addressing the poverty in their life, but also in our lives: for certainly they are rich in ways we don't realize and we are in poverty in ways we don't realize.
James 2:14-17 says:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace: keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
One of our partners in Haiti, Pastor Antoine was visiting with us here in MI last fall. We were introducing him to our partner churches in the Midwest. In some ways it is heart-wrenching to see the 2 worlds collide. One evening we were at a church and Antoine was sharing his testimony and the story of what God is doing in Haiti. He was so nervous, working hard to explain, in his second language the essence of that story.
At the end of our Q and A time I asked, "Pastor, why is it important for us to come down to Haiti?
He opened his heart and bared his soul with passion as he said, "In Haiti it is hard for people to believe that God loves them. They don't have money to buy food for their family. They can't send their children to school. There is no work for them. In situations like this it is hard to believe God loves you. The people of Haiti feel like they are living in hell. When YOU think about hell it is a place some people go after death. You go to heaven or hell. But in Haiti the people feel like they are in hell now. When you come to Haiti and let the love of God flow through you, then they can believe that God loves them."
Once again I was so humbled. Simply by coming: being their brothers and sisters in Christ, helping to make it possible for children to go to school, to get training for a trade, by worship with them, laughing with them, praying and eating with them, in all these ways we help to bring the love and kingdom of God. This is why we go, why we send, why we care. People living in hell can see that God is real and loves them.
This is the challenge, my friends: to carry the love of God to our family, addressing the poverty in their life, but also in our lives: for certainly they are rich in ways we don't realize and we are in poverty in ways we don't realize.
James 2:14-17 says:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace: keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
