Hope For Heaven Now

Last night I sat watching the Hope For Haiti Now telethon with a box of tissues. My heart was breaking for these people and the wreckage they are being pulled from. As I was listening I felt like these actors and musicians, with the best of intentions I realize, were saying the same things over and over again. The message that rang loud and clear in my heart was that we have known these statistics about Haiti forever. It is an impoverished country, many families live in shacks, and many children in orphanages. And the question that beckoned me was why has it taken devastation to break our hearts for this country? The real devastation is that before an earthquake came they were devastated and now that it has gone they are still devastated.

Why does it take disaster to unveil our eyes to see the hurt and oppression around the world? I am so amazed that people are pouring themselves out for Haiti right now. They need it and it is beautiful. American children giving out of their abundance, families praying, people rushing in to relieve, medics coming in to revive. But they also needed it before. Their need is just publicized more now.

There are war torn countries and other places that live like this on a regular basis and yet America still has our $51 million lottery. Hiring baseball players for contracts of $120 million. Releasing T.V. show hosts for $45 million. Doesn't this seem a little bizarre to anyone else? There are more countries with people concerned about where there next meal will come from than not and yet we have this excess of money to toss freely about. Really?

America is an "economic downturn". We are indebted to China and various other countries. Yet still we live in a ridiculous money driven society that generally has no thought for the poor in their own neighborhood much less those across any body of water. When we get rich we forget and when we are poor we don't remember.

I realize this isn't how the world turns and for reasons incomprehensible to me it can't be this way but wouldn't it be nice if every country gave out of their abundance and everyone had what they needed and no one lacked anything (Acts). We wouldn't have these astronomical gaps in society between the "haves" and the "have nots".

Oh how I long for heaven, when He will come and put right what has been made wrong and bring justice to the oppressed. Until then may my heart be burdened with the needs around the world and may I pour out the abundant love of Christ daily.