I landed in Port au Prince, Haiti in January of 2011, it was a defining moment in my life. Not a day has passed since that I don't see the faces of the Haitian people that I have come to love, or unable to recall the "scent" of Haiti, or fail to recognize the poverty, hunger, desperation, violence, hopelessness, and lack of justice that is just everyday life for a people who are often faceless, powerless, and unheard in the world. I know many of you who will read this understand because you also have been given a "Haiti Heart", a gift from God!
When we read in the Bible about the young rich man in Mark 17:17-27 who was eager to follow Jesus, many of us don't relate with this man who walked away disheartened because he had many possessions and could not part with them even as Jesus assured him of eternal treasure in Heaven. Please make no mistake, we are the "rich man" of the world! Almost half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day, and of those over 2 billion people life on less than $2.50 a day. Over and over in the Bible we see that God has overwhelming concern and compassion for the poor, the needy, we also see that God strongly condemns those who ignore the poor. How long can we continue to think about and store up treasure in our savings accounts, our 401k's, enjoy extravagant vacations, drive luxury cars, all while “sacrificing” our scraps to the poor… calling ourselves followers of Christ. Jesus gives “commands”, not “considerations”. Often as in the case of the "rich man” we say...well... Jesus is not actually calling us to give away or sell everything we have. But in truth if Jesus is the only one who could live a perfect, sinless life He was surely capable of saying what He meant. Jesus at any moment may ask any of His followers to sell everything he has and give to the poor. Jesus gave the rich man commands Go, Sell, Give, Come, and Follow; Something needs to change! God did not give us much so that we could have more stuff... He gave us much so that we could serve and minister to those with the least... the poor... the sick... the hungry... and those without shelter.
We will never do this perfectly... but we must encourage each other to give away what we have beyond a basic level of security. Whether one believes in God or not, one day we will stand before Jesus, the only just and righteous judge, our hearts will be fully exposed and it will be clear where we stand, there will be no second chance, and our eternal destination will be decided. If you believe this is true… are you living it out today?
More than ever Haiti needs our help now, today! You can partner with us today at EmpoweringPartners,
Matthew 25:44-45 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Praise God for all who are and have been faithful. Praise God for those who hear His word and obey. Today... Haiti and its people... our brothers and sisters need our continued prayers, they need our compassion now in their time of need.