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The world news of the last 24 hours has featured headlines like:
Looking for Light in Haiti’s Darkest Hour
Communication Down, Heartache Up
Hospitals are Full, Doctors Overwhelmed
Girl Pulled from Flattened Building
Haitians Dig Out Survivors, Pile Dead on Streets

On Tuesday, January 12th the country of Haiti suffered a massive 7.0 earthquake that destroyed much of that nation’s capitol.  Although there has been no final assessment of fatalities, one government official said that the death toll could exceed 100,000.


The collapsed buildings, lack of running water or electricity and 90-degree heat are causing suffering of epic proportions. Many survivors are even trying to dig loved ones out of the rubble with their bare hands.  Even the hospitals have been so badly damaged that receiving medical care is very difficult. The devastation is so widespread that this undoubtedly will be counted as one of the worst disasters in history.

As it has come to the world’s attention, offers of aid and assistance are coming from organizations all over the globe. CNN reported, “As the scope of the disaster began to come into focus, offers of help began pouring in. Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Guyana, Iceland, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States were among the countries offering aid. Chile and Israel early Thursday joined a growing list of nations scrabbling to get aid to the impoverished nation.”

Hearing about the disaster is difficult, but seeing the pictures is even more heart wrenching; scenes like:

  • Buildings of an entire city reduced to piles of rubble, like something out of a science fiction movie, except that this is not computer generated, it’s real
  • People wandering the streets bruised, broken and bleeding, searching for loved ones.
  • Dead bodies piling up on the streets because there is nowhere and no one to bury them.

The reaction of many people has been to ask, “What can I do?” Thankfully the Red Cross and many other organizations like Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti are already taking donations and shipping in relief.

This disaster, like other recent hurricanes and tsunamis, is too tragic to ignore. I am reminded of a line from Michael Jackson’s song “Man in the Mirror” that asks, “Who am I to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs.” For these people, it is not “business as usual.” Their lives will be forever impacted.

As Christians we should leading the charge to lend assistance in every way possible. Here is a prime opportunity to shine the light of God’s love into this dark situation in a tangible way and bring glory to His name.  No effort is too small. As Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”

It is very easy to go to our warm, comfortable churches and talk about letting our little lights shine. We have bumper stickers, t-shirts and armbands with the initials WWJD. The question today is: What Will You Do?