Snow and Earthquakes

In scripture, David stands out as one of the true great men. He was the man after God's own heart, the defeater of Goliath and Israels greatest King. Yet, this man went through a period in his life where he wandered from God, slept with a married woman, got her pregnant and had her husband killed. One day, the Prophet Nathan challenged David on this point and David, realizing his sinfulness, wrote Psalm 51 - a most amazing Psalm. In verse 7 of that Psalm, David recognizes the power of God's forgiveness as he wrote, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7 MKJ)

On Sunday morning I looked out of the front window of my home to see a world that was the purest white. Every house, every tree every, every inch of ground was a beautiful white. By Sunday morning the snow had stopped and the sun shone down creating a picture perfect image. By 2PM I had dug out our driveway and prepared for a trip to Maryland for a National Capital Band event. By this time our neighborhood had been ploughed, a number of cars had driven on the road turning the snow to different shades of dirty. Over the next few days, or by the end of this cold snap, the snow will continue to disappear, the piles of snow will turn black and the world will start to look like itself again.

In many ways, this image represents the way God works in our lives. The world is less than perfect but, if we ask for forgiveness like David did in Psalm 51, God will wash me, cleanse me and I will be whiter than snow but...unless I continue to ask for forgiveness for my sins, my old self will start to re-emerge and the cleansing is lost.

The change in landscape in Haiti could not be a greater contrast to what I just described. In this instance the devastation is a horrible reminder of the consequence of the fall of man. It would take a Bible study to explain how the great flood plays into what has happened in Haiti, but this devastation is a reminder that we are but frail people living in a frail world. Sadly earthquakes, hurricanes, famines are called "acts of God" yet the reality could not be further from the truth. I don't for one minute believe that this earthquake was in any way an act of God, but I do believe the acts of God are now going on. The acts of God are seen in the Methodist Church that is raising money for relief. The acts of God are seen in operation blessing at they work to help the victims of this horrible disaster. The acts of God are seen in The Salvation Army workers who are trying to feed 1,000,000 victims EVERY DAY!!! Please believe that God is in Haiti and that, through the work of the faith based groups, not only will people be physically nourished but they will be Spiritually nourished. Make that your prayer for Haiti, a country where Voodoo is rampant, that God is honored and that lives are saved in His name.