A Passion for the Things that Matter to Him

As part of our preparation for the short-term mission trip to Haiti, we had to do some research on the country.  Here are some facts and statistics I came across in my research:

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty.  Most Haitians live on $2 or less per day.

Haiti’s richest 1% owns nearly half the country’s wealth.

Only 40% of the population has access to basic health care.

The enrollment rate for primary school is 67% and fewer than 30% reach 6^th grade.

One year after the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, only 5% of the up to 22 million cubic yards of heavy debris had been removed.

Haiti will need to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, according to a journalist, as “even in good times, Haiti is an economic wreck, balancing precariously on the razor’s edge of calamity.”

So why have ten people from the prosperity and comfort of the Atlanta suburbs decided to serve in a Haitian orphanage in August?  I can only speak for myself.  For most of my life, I have been what I would describe as a non-practicing Christian.  In my younger days being a Christian was about hanging out with my church friends, playing softball, and going to church camp.  As I have grown older, I have enjoyed listening to a good sermon or reading a good Christian book.  I have a good head knowledge of the Bible, but it has not translated into a heart relationship with Christ.

I have been challenged in recent years by witnessing family and friends step out in faith to God’s calling.  My brother and his family have made trips to Nicaragua to work to improve the lives of the people there.  My Mom served at a children’s home in Brazil.  We have seen good friends from church serve in Africa and have been inspired by their passion for the world’s orphans.

When I am really honest with myself, I realize that I have been worshipping a god of comfort and security instead of the true God of the Bible.  My prayer for this trip is that God would give me a passion for the things that matter to Him instead of the selfish things that matter to me.

“The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life.
-John Ortberg

Written by: Jay Daniel