Before I get to today's blog, those who read my previous post on my friend Jim Harrell going home to Jesus may wish to listen to a 3-minute audio clip of me sharing about the work God did through Jim and his suffering.
Like many of you, I'm praying for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Heartbreaking.
It's been well publicized that Pat Robertson claimed the earthquake is God's judgment on Haiti for past sin, including making a pact with the devil.
Yesterday I was on the radio talking about the subject of evil and suffering, and was asked about Robertson’s comments. If you wish, listen to the audio of the 10-minute exchange concerning this.
The earthquake is a reminder that all of us live only by God’s mercy. Though God judged both individuals and nations as recorded in Scripture, we know this only because he revealed it, NOT because of the terrible things that happened. Job’s friends wrongly stated Job suffered because God was judging him for sin, while God called Job blameless. Jesus said the man wasn’t blind because of any sin committed by him or his father, but that God might be glorified in him. And check out Luke 13:1-5:
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
This is no time to declare that Haiti as a nation is being judged. We don’t know that, because God has not revealed it, and it is just speculation. We do know that we ALL deserve God’s judgment, and we all live by his mercy. Does Haiti deserve worse judgment than America does for our slaughter of 50 million unborn children and our exportation of glorified sexual immorality to every corner of the world? We should humbly and generously be the hands and feet of Jesus to serve and help the poor people of Haiti, in the name of our Savior, no stranger to poverty and suffering. (To Robertson’s credit, by the way, he did say we should reach out and help the people of Haiti.)
You might also want to check out an article about natural disasters excerpted from my book If God Is Good, as well as an interesting essay written by Al Mohler called "Does God Hate Haiti?"
