“Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1 ESV)
The entire world has been shocked by the powerful and destructive earthquake that rocked the country of Haiti in January 2010. At least 150, 000 men, women, and children have already been buried, mostly in massed graves and the Haitian government fears that there are still at least 50,000 bodies still trapped under the tons of rubble that is yet to be cleared in and around Haiti’s capital.
Some have looked at this tragedy and decided that there is no God, because a loving and compassionate God would never allow a disaster like this to occur. But I think just the opposite. Of course God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8) and we can’t (nor should we try) to fully understand why He has allowed the earth to move as it did, at that particular spot where millions of people lived.
Just how is God seen in such a disaster? Compassion. It may not register at first, but God is a compassionate God. Much has been seen in the countless men and women who have made their way to Haiti to help; medically, rescuing, tearing down unsafe buildings, feeding the hungry, holding young orphans and showing them love. What moved these people and millions more around the world to send money and supplies to this tiny nation and its people? Compassion. Why did so many people show compassion? The answer – God. When Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory, this is how YHWH replied, “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression sin . . .” (Exodus 34:6 – 7a). The psalmist says of the Lord, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13).
One of God’s attributes is His compassion. All humankind is an image-bearer of the Creator. Why would so many people respond to the earthquake crisis as they did and continue to do? It is the feelings of compassion toward others, which is one of the great gifts that God has given to men and women; boys and girls. It’s unique to human beings. Do elephants come and help a pride of lions that have gone through a crisis? Do penguins try to show compassion to a hurt elephant seal? Of course not! But we humans without a second thought will freely help people that we don’t even know, from another culture, and thousands of miles away will show compassion just as God does when a lonely, dying sinner receives the greatest gift of compassion, a relationship with the Heavenly Father through the blood atonement of His only Son. That’s love! That’s compassion!
Yes, there is a God. And He cares more than anyone that a destructive earthquake destroyed the homes and lives of so many people. But in God’s perfect, holy plan, “just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27 – 28).
Waiting with you for the perfection of all things,
Pastor Leslie
