Over 150,000 people were buried as a result of the Haitian earthquake. I have been trying to grapple with that number. I have been trying to put it in perspective. This evening my wife and I went to a wake. As the people flowed by the bereaved parents I noted the average time spent with each person in line was approximately one minute. If one greeted 150,000 people at that rate, for eight hours a day, five days a week, it would take over a year. That is a lot of people.
It makes some of my losses in life look pretty small. When we lose something we tend to think “poor me” while the truth is most of us have been overwhelmingly blessed. Most of those 150,000 people were by the world’s standards very poor. By American standards they were miserably poor. It is so hard to imagine how this can be. Yet my wife and I lived in Africa for six years and we do know life can be very hard for some.
Sometimes there is a strong temptation to think that human life is cheap and replaceable. Over 300,000 babies are born on earth every day. That meansonly 12 hours of people were buried in Haiti. My question is why is God so obsessed with our redemption? Why did the Word become flesh and dwell among us? Why does God so love the world that He gave His only son? Why when we were His enemies did He die for us? Some people tell me when I get to heaven I will understand. Honestly, when I get to heaven and see God’s glory I think I will be even more amazed at His love for us.
Written by Roger Bothwell on January 26, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org