An UMCOR team finished unloading a truck in Haiti.

Why would an all powerful, all loving God allow the horrific natural disasters of the past five years—the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed nearly 230,000 people in 14 countries, Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, the Myanmar cyclone in 2008, and now last week’s devastating earthquake in nearby Haiti? This question of “Why, God?” is not a new one. It is repeated over 330 times in the book of Job alone. But we, like Job, are never given God’s answer. Paul in Romans 8:21 though, does remind us that all of creation, this fallen world that we live in, will always be subjected to the frustrations caused by the consequences of sin until Christ returns.

Although we are never given the answer to the question “why,” God has made clear to us the “what” of God’s redemptive response to human pain, and of our commitment, our requirement, to respond to it. Jesus’ mission statement in Luke chapter 4 comes straight from Isaiah 61.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners….”

We are to “…rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.”

Romans 8:28 declares that even though God is not the cause OF all things, God works IN all things so that they come together for the redemptive good. It’s amazing to witness how disaster brings the world together to work in positive ways to serve victims. Those of us who would typically never see eye-to-eye, or who have deep-seated enmity between us based on religious, ethnic, cultural or political divides, can set aside our differences, at least briefly, and join hands to serve our fellow human beings. Just since the earthquake struck on January 12, international aid contributions for Haiti have totaled in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here’s an update as to how Ginghamsburg Church is responding on behalf of our sisters and brothers in Haiti. Last weekend, you gave nearly $37,000 toward Haiti relief. That total amount has already been forwarded to UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief) in memory of Sam Dixon, our UMCOR partner and friend who died in Haiti from injuries sustained in the earthquake. We will hold a second “above and beyond” offering this weekend that will also be sent, in its entirety, for the critical work in Haiti. UMCOR is also in dire need of health kits to deploy to quake survivors as soon as possible. Your $12 to $14 investment in a health kit will support one person in desperate need of everyday basics including soap, toothbrushes and bandages. See your worship bulletin this weekend for details on how to participate. For those of you who are not part of the Ginghamsburg Church family, you may contribute to UMCOR’s work in Haiti online.

Continue to pray about how God is calling you to act sacrificially out of your blessings on behalf of quake victims. Also pray for Dr. Steve Guy, a Ginghamsburg board member and physician, who is arriving in Haiti today (Thursday, January 21) to provide badly needed medical care to the injured.

I am blessed to be part of a church that knows the mission…and lives it.

God bless…