As we flew into the Dallas airport I couldn’t help but notice beautiful homes lined up with swimming pools in nearly every back yard. The site struck me because it was so different than the site flying over and into Port Au Prince, Haiti. When you fly over Haiti you see tarps and make shift homes piled one on top of another and then as you get to ground level you see all that the people own is stuffed into a small tent.
Understand this, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with having stuff but I think there is a line we cross when we begin to seek all the stuff we want, not need, while there are others all around the world who struggle just to have what they need. When our wants become more important than the needs of others than we are allowing the love of this land, this world, to trump our love for all people.
God modeled love for people by sending His own Son not to live in comfort but to give us hope, to give us freedom, to serve others, to meet our needs through His very own life. Jesus said He came to give life to the fullest, and that life is obtained when we live with His heart, serving others even if that means sacrifice of our wants. Jesus didn’t want to die a brutal death but He loved us and was willing to go to the cross so that we could have what we need, eternal life with Him.
There are many things this trip has reminded me of but maybe none greater than my need to live my life with the very heart and hands of Jesus. It has challenged me to not just say I am a Christian (or Christ-like), but to really live Christ-like bringing glory to God even when it means sacrifice.
That is my final thought on the trip but let me end by giving thanks:
Thank you to our team who was amazing in Haiti this week. Thank you to our team back home who faithfully covered us in prayer all week. Thank you to those who supported financially, or donated goods for the Haitian people. Thank you to the sewing cirlce who made houses look like homes with brand new curtains. Thank you also for taking care of the families of the team members in Haiti. Thank you to Will and Julie White for their hospitality and their hearts to serve God wherever and however He calls them. Thanks to Johnson, our driver in Haiti for the week. Thanks to Shelly for her ministry in Haiti and for letting us be a part of keeping Haitian families together. Thanks to the many Haitians who helped us along the way and who humbled us at times with their self-sacrifice.
Thank you God for putting all of this together and changing hearts and lives of the Haitian people and also of all those who have been on this journey. May God receive the glory forever and ever, Amen.
