Last night at small group we had a lengthy discussion on the earthquake in Haiti. Our group is made up of people who are passionate to be God's true hands and feet in the world. So obviously, we are all very stirred by these recent events and what God is up to.

As with many conversations yesterday, our talk turned to Pat Robinson and his remarks. He brought up Haiti's tradition as a voodoo country and alluded that there was a correlation between their religion and the devastation of the earthquake. Talking about this with our small group simply made my stomach turn. As we continued to share around the group, my mind began recalling what it is I love about Christianity and what it is I can't stand about religion.

You see I believe there is a fundamental difference between being a Christ-follower and being a religious person. Religion is a set of rules and regulations about how we should live. Often these rules and regulations are violently defended to anyone who disagrees with those rules. Every religion, maybe especially Christianity, can point to events in their history filled with violence in the name of their God... to prove themselves right.  

I have a dear, dear friend who encapsulated these thoughts perfectly today. My friend would not align herself with mainstream Christianity though she thinks Jesus is pretty cool. After being lambasted for being different, she shared some of her thoughts on Facebook: "I understand religion, and I am often turned off by it. I am turned off by the disdain and the animosity and the condemnation that pours out of the so-called good Christians like their life blood."

I couldn't agree more. Even when sharing truth... deep, life-changing, truth... Christians often come across in a pushy, hurtful way. Even some of what Pat Robinson said might ring of truth... a nation filled with people practicing voodoo... probably not a good decision. God is righteous and has warned of judgment. The problem with what was said... and what is often preached and thrown at unbelievers... is they forget the second half.

 

GRACE. God does warn of judgment and the consequences of leading a sinful life. And in response to His own warning, He did something a little bit radical. He sent this person named Jesus... a piece of Himself put into the limitations of flesh. And this Jesus was the answer to that judgment and wrath God warned about. The life of Jesus doesn't in any way, shape, or form fit with the hellfire and brimstone that so many unbelievers are lambasted with.

Instead, Jesus acted in the exact opposite way. He lambasted the religious... the ones who made and enforced the rules... creating more rules when they deemed necessary. To those people, he shouted and turned over tables. But to the lost... to those whose lifestyles were as far outside the religious law as you could get... To them he loved. He held them. He cried with them. He knelt down in the dirt with them. And ultimately, He died for them. He became the punishment that God promised. God punished Himself in order to set them free.

So have the people of Haiti made some bad decisions in the past? Sure... what nation hasn't? But can the Body of Christ lean back, cross their arms, point their fingers, and say "I told you so?" Never. Instead, those who want to follow Christ must get down on their knees, down in the dirt alongside the Haitians, cry with them, hold them, and point to a God who desperately loves them and will do absolutely anything to rescue them.

This is the God I love. This is the God who inspires me. This is the God who I want my friend to meet. This is the God I want to follow to Haiti. How about you?

AIM is currently mobilizing efforts to effectively reach out to Haiti. Those of you who have walked with us for a while remember our dear friends Miguel and Kristen Shaul (Miguel was Corey's best man). They lead AIM's base in the Dominican Republic. The day after the earthquake Miguel and David packed their backpacks with as many supplies as they could and jumped on a flatbed truck headed toward the Haitian border. Miguel will spend the next few days or weeks helping in every way he can and finding where AIM can send teams and supplies to aid in relief.

If you want to be a part of these efforts, I encourage two main ways.

Corey and I also ask for your prayers, that you would cover us as we seek out our specific response to Haiti, including a possible trip to support Miguel's relief efforts.