Is There Any Explanation For Haiti?

153,000 Deaths (Daily) and Counting . . .

Humanly speaking, some of life's experiences are so far beyond our understanding that we simply want to avoid the subject. One eyewitness in Haiti reported, "I don't think a word has been invented to describe how horrific this really is." Even words fail.

That's how I feel regarding any attempt to provide biblical perspective or explanation regarding the human suffering associated with mid-January's earthquakes. Yet without doubt, God's Word is not silent about His ways. And we learn most about His perspective in the midst of real-life experiences, especially crises. So we don't want to fail to learn from events such as this one. God doesn't want to waste events of this nature.

Explanations Should Not Precede Compassion

We all know that our first response to tragedy should almost always be grieving, caring, praying, and reaching out in practical ways. Right now, millions of Americans, as well as our government, are modeling compassion. It is amazing to see the response.

• Was there a single church in our nation that weekend that did not urge giving to relief efforts?
• Don't all of us know someone who is headed to Haiti to help? Or those who desperately want to? Even some of our own staff are asking if they can go help.
• Has there ever been such a rush of resources to a single calamity?

Many of you, along with Life Action as a ministry, are modeling giving right now to those in dire need. What a blessing to live in the midst of millions of people who care.

For me, the most gripping coverage thus far was when CNN played footage from a video camera that was rolling in someone's home during the quake. After the first shock, the video went dark as the house collapsed, but the audio continued to record. The sounds of crashing concrete gave way to the shrilling cries and screams of people in shock and unfathomable physical and emotional pain. My first thought was that this must be a glimpse of what the blackness and torture of hell is like. It is still ringing in my ears.

Someone I Know . . .  Died on Tuesday

I recently went to the funeral visitation of a Mrs. Conrad. She lived a full life, leaving behind four daughters, all of whom are walking with the Lord. For the most part, her life has been filled with outward blessing ... material provision, stable culture, and plenty of food and clothing. No major hardships apart from the expected, such as living through a few wars and a few years of economic challenge. The death of her husband preceded her. But on the whole, her life was free of dramatic tragedy.

Her family were together in the comfort of each other and close friends, and the funeral took place in a nicely furnished funeral home. It was a stark contrast to the burying of the dead in mass graves in Haiti.

Yet, a second after she died, the playing field was level and still is. And it is important to note that since "a thousand years is as a single day in the eyes of the Lord," she only lived one hour in light of how God counts time. Virtually everyone in the world lives less than an hour. Actually, even less than that ... however long a vapor lasts.

What Does God See?

Mrs. Conrad died along with 153,000 others who were not in Haiti that same day. That's right--apart from any major disaster, 153,000 people die every single day. That's 6,390 per hour. On January 12th it increased to about 9,000 per hour and then dropped again to the normal 6,390 per hour.

I am overwhelmed by the vivid pictures of death coming out of Haiti. It may be the only time that I ever see something this catastrophic. BUT it is not the only time God sees something this dramatic. God sees 153,000 people die every day. If we experienced what He sees daily, it would be so commonplace that it would never make the news.

And that's what has happened on a daily basis in my life. I just accept death as a stat until it hits close to home, or the cause is dramatic, or the numbers escalate by 30% as they did on January 12. Then I take note.

I'm glad death never becomes commonplace or old news to God. I believe the sounds of hell are heard by our Lord every day. In fact, more than 10,000 people died while I was writing this brief article. God saw them all. To Him, every one of them had a body, soul, and spirit. They are all His "loved ones." And He is always more concerned about the soul and spirit than He is about the body, for good reason: The body is a vapor, but the spirit and soul live forever ... somewhere.

If you think about it, are the deaths in Haiti really much different than the deaths experienced by others every day around the world? In God's eyes, are they any more traumatic than those Galileans who died at the hands of Pilate when he proceeded to mingle their blood as a part of the sacrifice they set out to make at the temple? Very gruesome. Or of those eighteen who died when concrete from the Tower of Siloam fell on them (Luke 13:1-5)?

Jesus' answer to those who suggested that the victims encountered tragedy because they failed to repent was simply, "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." In other words, Jesus used the example of both, an evil criminal causing death and a natural disaster causing death, to declare, Don't waste this disaster! Everyone everywhere needs to repent.

John Piper said it this way:

The point of every deadly calamity is this: Repent. Let our hearts be broken that God means so little to us. Grieve that He is a whipping boy to be blamed for pain, but not praised for pleasure. Lament that He makes headlines only when man mocks His power, but no headlines for ten thousand days of wrath withheld. Let us rend our hearts that we love life more than we love Jesus Christ. Let us cast ourselves on the mercy of our Maker. He offers it through the death and resurrection of His Son.

Don't Waste This Experience

There are two things I cannot escape in my own heart and do not want to waste:

1.  People (153,000 of them daily) are dying physically in our neighborhood called the world. (Due to technology, our neighbors are the entire world.) Some are dying in a seemingly nice way, others in a more tragic way. All are dying. BUT all are dying spiritually as well, if they did not claim Jesus as their Savior and Lord; and there is something I can do about informing them of what happens after they die, that makes their manner of physical death totally irrelevant to them when they are in heaven or hell.

2.  This exposure is to such a dramatic form of death. Paul makes it clear that everything is for the purpose of conforming me to Christ. If I am not more like Jesus, and if I do not see things more closely to what He sees, then I am missing an opportunity to join Him in His redemptive plan.

Desiring God's perspective,

Byron

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