The photo images coming from Haiti’s disaster are disturbing indeed…

Children with bloodied and swollen faces, their eyes glazed and void. A dust-covered mother sitting alone amidst the chaos, cradling her infant and weeping for a life cut short. Men digging with bare hands through tons of broken concrete, hoping to rescue survivors trapped in the rubble beneath them. Sniffer dogs seeking scents in the rubble. Corpses stockpiled and rotting in the streets.  

I watch the news, and my heart breaks for the helpless. For this country crushed by corruption, and this people paralyzed by poverty. For the parents who still haven’t found their children, and for orphans who have suffered too much already. For the families of peacekeepers, aid workers, and missionaries anxiously waiting for word as they watch the 72-hour window close. For those buried alive, gasping for breath and crying for help as their lives slowly ebb.

I sit in the safety and comfort of my home, sip a cup of coffee, and watch the catastrophe unfold on my TV. The images disturb me, but I find myself distracted by the fact that our basement flooded for the third time during this week’s heavy rain. And the fact that my youngest daughter is in Central America and I don’t have phone or email contact with her. And the fact that my husband and I are succumbing to sniffles and sore throats.

My life is so vastly different from the world’s millions, nay, billions who only wish that they had a flooded basement. Or that their children were alive and had the resources to travel. Or that the common cold was their biggest health issue. And because it is so different, it’s difficult to comprehend the anguish portrayed onscreen. It’s also difficult to know how to respond because the problem seems too big to fix.

So, what can we do?

• We can donate funds to reputable organizations such as World Vision, Power to Change, and Red Cross. There are many others out there with the ability to translate dollars into practical assistance. The Canadian government has promised to match up to $50 million dollars, so let’s make our money work.
• We can pray for the survivors – that more will be found. That their wounds will not become infected. That their broken bones will not set in a way that will cause lifelong deformities. And that God will mercifully heal them psychologically from the trauma they’ve experienced. The list of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs is endless.
• We can pray for the safety and health of rescue workers, especially as the potential for disease spreads and the threat of public anger rises.
• We can pray for aid to arrive quickly and without hindrances.
• We can pray that this disaster will be a catalyst of spiritual life for this broken nation.

“God, guard our hearts from complacency or thinking there’s nothing we can do because we live so far away. Move us with compassion…open our eyes to the things unseen…break our hearts over what breaks Yours. And teach us how to respond in a way that’s both helpful to others and pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

What are your thoughts on what’s happening? Has your life been personally impacted by thus tragedy? If so, how?

My family has sponsored children through World Vision for nearly 15 years. Presently we have an 8-year-old boy, Ankit, in India and a 12-year-old girl in Nepal. Two years ago, we had the privilege of meeting Ankit and his family. I tell ya, the joy level in my heart that day nearly went through the roof. 

I will always cherish the memory of holding Ankit on my lap and seeing the delight on his face when we shared balloons and candy with him and his friends. I’ll always remember the moment he ducked into his mud-and-rock house and returned with the Christmas card I’d sent him three months prior. And I will also cherish the memory of speaking with his mother. Our hearts truly connected that day. After all, we share the same goal of trying to make life better for her little boy.

When I speak on behalf of millions of impoverished children around the world, I challenge Canadians to value what God values. Scripture contains more than 2,000 references to helping the poor, the orphans, and the widows. His heart breaks for them; ours ought to break, too, and we ought to do what we can to help in practical ways. Isn’t that what pure and undefiled religion is all about?

In some communities, I see women respond with open hands. They “get” it. They understand the need and they do something about it, even if it means giving sacrificially. In other places, I see them respond with skepticism. On this tour, one little girl – maybe 10 years old – said to her mom, “We should sponsor a child. Let’s do this, okay?” The mother replied, “No, it’s just a scam.” Ouch.

When I heard that, something inside me rose up and wanted to say, “Tell that to a child who goes to bed hungry every night, or to his mother who watches helplessly as her child dies of malnutrition or water-related disease. Or tell that to the national World Vision staff dedicated to working in these needy areas despite the sacrifices required of them to do so.”

This morning I read Daniel 4:27 – “Break from your wicked past by being merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.” This verse suddenly takes on a whole new meaning for me. It makes me wonder how much of our sinful behavior is dictated by selfishness – a desire for convenience, comfort, instant gratification, and so forth. However…

Being merciful to the poor means we take our eyes off ourselves and our wants. We focus on the needs of others and do what we can to meet those needs. We start thinking about what really matters to God and to eternity.  We break from our sinful behavior and start living in a manner that pleases the Lord. And when we do that, perhaps we prosper in unexpected ways. After all, God says we reap what we sow.

As for me, I’m going to sow into eternity. I’m going to continue being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves…those millions of kids living in poverty, affected by HIV/AIDS, struggling with diseases for which there are no easy answers in their situations. I’m going to continue asking God to break my heart over what breaks His. And I’m going to keep praying for God to move the hearts of Canadian women to value what He values.

How about you? In whatever circumstances are yours, how can you show mercy to the poor?

I’m reading the book The Backward Life by Jarrod Jones. He writes, “In the original Greek language of the Bible, compassion means ‘a wrenching in the guts.’” He mentions the story of the blind men who cried to Jesus for mercy (Matthew 20). He says that Jesus was intensely moved, saddened, and brokenhearted over the despair of these men. He healed them not because He felt obligated, but because His heart was broken by their desperation and hopelessness.

Today I read Luke 7:11-15, the account of the widow whose only child died. When Jesus saw her sorrow, He was moved to compassion and raised the boy from the dead. In other words, Jesus’ heart was broken by the woman’s desperate situation.

So what do these passages mean to me? Well, I’m challenged to evaluate my attitude towards others who are in desperate situations. For instance, this morning as our train rolled out of Kosice, Slovakia, it rumbled past a smattering of Roma (gypsy) shacks along the tracks. I’ve seen mind-boggling poverty in New Delhi, and this situation in Eastern Europe seems very similar in severity.

What was my initial response? “Oh my goodness, look at those houses. How can people actually live like that?” Within moments, my thoughts turned elsewhere. I was not moved by compassion. My heart was not broken. Shocked or appalled, maybe, but not broken.

What prevents our hearts from being moved by compassion as Christ’s was? My hunch is this – true compassion might require something of us. We might have to get our hands dirty. We might have to sacrifice comfort, or the privilege of living near family. We may have to give financial aid. We might have to re-examine priorities or undergo change, and change doesn’t always feel good.

Wow – this really challenges me. I realize that I can’t rush out and solve the world’s poverty, but I can invite the Holy Spirit to change me from within so He can use me to bring healing to the desperate and hopeless to whom He directs me. And so I pray as World Vision founder Bob Pierce prayed, “God, break my heart over what breaks Yours.”

I invite you to pray that prayer, too. Imagine what our world might look like if believers everywhere were actually moved by compassion as Jesus was.