We all have been stunned by the devastation that has happened in Haiti. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake of January 12 and the aftershocks have taken the lives of an estimated 200,000 people. New Horizon Church’s main international mission effort is building a two story school building as well as ongoing assistance for the teachers and students. Fortunately, the school is still standing. Only a back wall collapsed. Since beginning our mission work there, some four years ago, we have developed friendships with different people of Haiti. Many that we have heard from are safe and we are praising God that their lives were spared. However, many were not so fortunate. One of our Haitian school teachers was killed in the earthquake. Sam Dixon of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) was just one of the missionaries who died in the earthquake. Many families are grieving the loss of loved family members and friends. Many are asking the question, “Why?”

Why did God allow this to happen to the poorest country in the western hemisphere? Hasn’t that country suffered enough? There has been at least one religious leader who tried to answer those questions in a way that left me unsatisfied and a bit angry. I feel that there are no easy answers here. I can not easily explain this away or dismiss it as “God’s judgment.” All I can do is to turn to God for comfort and for guidance on how I might help in the relief efforts.

There is something that God allowed me to see in all of this and I find it very encouraging and even amazing. In the first few days of the earthquake tragedy the T.V. reporters were usually standing in front of areas of devastation where buildings had been destroyed. As I watched, I found myself not paying so much attention to the reporter. Instead, I found myself looking behind the reporter to the people on the street. That was where the real story was for me. In the midst of devastation like they had never experienced before, I was encouraged to see many of the Haitian people helping each other. Even in the midst of their own suffering they were doing whatever they could to help others who were suffering. Haitian Christ followers were praying and singing in the streets as well as helping in the rescue efforts. In their own brokenness they became “wounded healers” who sought to help in the healing process of others even in.

In those “behind the scenes” actions, I saw something amazing. I saw Christ! The actions of the Haitian people, helping others in the reality of their own pain and grief, reminded me what the Bible says about Jesus: "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."
(1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus was wounded for you, for me, and for the Haitian people. In our own wounded state, perhaps we are most Christ-like when we reach out to others who are hurting. I sense that if I could just get this one right, if I could see the opportunities that come during the times of true devastation and disappointment, than maybe I could practice the beautiful challenge of I Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

In Christ’s Greater Love,
Roger Perry