Let's Get It Together

As I looked through pictures from several people who had just returned from Haiti, I started pondering the questions that have plagued so many of us who have been to Haiti to visit the orphans there.  What is it about them that makes us long to be there with them?  Why does my world back home seem so pale in comparison the time I spent there?  Why do I feel so alive and vital there?  How can I love these kids so much when I only just met them, when we can barely communicate, when we have so little in common?  That last question stops me, the answer is obvious.  We have Jesus in common.  And that IS everything. 

OK, so that explains the connection to them, at least as much as I can comprehend it.  Through the marvelous love of Christ, we are connected with a bond that surpasses language, culture, circumstances, and status in life.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is hard to explain and amazing to experience.  Once you experience it, you want to immerse yourself in it all the time.  You long for it, like a little taste of Heaven where every tribe and nation will be represented, bowing down around the throne and worshiping God. 

But that doesn't full explain why my world back home feels empty compared to theirs.  I can worship God here.  I have many amazing brothers and sisters in Christ here.  Why do I still long to be there?  Don't misunderstand me, it's not that I long to live in such humble circumstances, eating rice from a frisbee and living in a cinder block home.  And it's not that I struggle with relationships back home--I have a great marriage to my love and partner, Joy.  I love my kids and enjoy my time with them.  I work for an amazing company full of good people who are passionate about what they do.  Many of them share my passion for Christ.  I love serving at church and sharing life with so many loyal Christ-followers.  But even among all that great stuff going on, I still feel like there's something more there in Haiti--like those kids, the pastors, the momma's there GET something I don't.  They have something we don't.  It’s like there is something there that is missing here.  I know I'm not alone in this feeling.  I've talked with so many who have gone and returned to experience this feeling.  For some, it even borders on depression.  The fullness of life there among the orphans can leave you feeling empty and longing for it when you come home.  People who haven't been there don't fully understand, but so many of us that have gone have shared these feelings.  It has sparked many conversations that ultimately come back to the question, "What do they have that we don't?"

I found myself pondering it again last night as I looked through more pictures and videos.  I saw orphans who have nothing full of smiles radiating the joy of the Lord.  I saw videos of them worshiping with such focus and energy that makes my own worship seem lackluster.  I saw them celebrating their faith and living it out in smiles, hugs, and songs.  And then God connected the dots for me.  I stumbled across a favorite C.S. Lewis quote.

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

  

Those kids, the pastors, the mommas in Haiti all have such an intense focus on Christ and eternity with Him that they radiate His love.  They are truly excited for Heaven.  I was reminded of a great example of this that I witnessed in October.  I was telling the Bible story to the kids, sharing about how Jesus is the bridegroom and we, the church, are His bride.  I told them of how He protects us, provides for us, and how He is going to prepare a place for us in Heaven.  That one day we will all go to Heaven to be with Him forever.  I'll be honest, as someone raised in a good church and taught this from an early age, I've taken the view of this as my eternal life insurance, knowing I don't have to fear death and hell.  It's nice to know, nice to have that to fall back on.  Nice, but not exciting, like it should be.  Not exciting like it was to those Haitian believers that day.  When I said "Jesus is going to prepare a place for us", Pastor Lionel, sitting towards the back, raised his arm in worship.  When I said "One day we will all go to Heaven to be with Him forever" the kids broke out in applause and cheered.  They get it!  They understand the appeal of Heaven and the joy of eternity with Jesus.  They are excited about that!  And I realize, like C.S. Lewis said, I have become distracted by the things of this world.  I haven't really comprehended Heaven like they do in Haiti, and if I did, I would be more excited for it.  If I really ‘get’ Heaven, I would be more effective for Jesus and less distracted by the world and its things.  Jonathan Edwards said it best:

“The enjoyment of [God] is our highest happiness, and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean.”

There is the answer—our Haitian friends have a much better grasp on enjoying God and a better perspective on the things of this earth.  Because of their plight as orphans, they even have a stronger grasp of the difference between a relationship with our Heavenly Father and earthly relationships, even the best earthly relationships.  They have learned to depend on the Heavenly Father, even when earthly relationships fail.

So if that's the answer, what's the next step?  First, we should be encouraged by our feelings of longing for Haiti and those kids.  They are rooted in a desire to experience Christ, to experience His love, and to be used for things that matter (loving others).  I won't speak for you, but my next step is to apply myself to measuring the things in my life against eternity.  C.S. Lewis also had a good quote for that:  "All that's not eternal is eternally useless."  Only people are eternal, things aren’t.  There are so many opportunities around us, but we get distracted by the 'shiny things' (as my friend Tami Heim calls them).  I pray for the ability to focus on the eternal around me, and for self-discipline to avoid giving my time and energy to the eternally useless.  It's a challenge is to use the things you have to connect to the people and to serve others around us, and not get distracted by those same things.  I'm glad that God has blessed me with abundance and opened my eyes to many new opportunities to use it for the eternal.  I don't know if I'll ever fully get what they have, but I want it, and I'm striving in Christ's name to "Get It".  Join me!  Let's GET IT together!