Don't Forget...(Updated)

For the most recent Community Corner article I wrote in the newsletter we publish for the program I run at the Y, I decided to update one of my previous blog posts titled "Don't Forget..." Within this article, I take a slightly different approach to the "Don't Forget..." concept and tie in community, as well as the 1 year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. 

My dad has always been a good source of unique trivia, weird quotes and advice with which I’m not quite sure what to do. Don’t get me wrong, he has passed on lots of fatherly wisdom and words of advice that continue to ring true in my life today. However, he also has a unique way of phrasing things and leaving me scratching my head wondering what he meant by what he just said.

For example, since the time I was in middle school, my dad would get this goofy grin on his face as he left me with one phrase before leaving for work every day: “Don’t forget...”

My answer was always “Don’t forget what?”

He would reply, as the grin grew bigger, “Just don’t forget...”

Huh?!?

For years this phrase has left me scratching my head. I’ve pondered and mused and engaged in deep thought over what I should not forget. In middle school, I would wonder what chore I had forgotten to do or what homework I had forgotten to turn in or if I had forgotten to zip the zipper on my pants!

While I did forget to do work around the house and turn in my homework on more occasions than I care to admit – and I would find I had forgotten to zip my zipper at the most embarrassing moments, like when I was trying to be smooth when talking to the girl I liked – I have found over time that those were not the things my dad was speaking about when he told me “Don’t forget…”

A little over a month ago was the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti. This was an event which the whole world watched thanks to around-the-clock broadcasts of the devastation, as well as the aid that was pouring into the country. This aid came from foreign governments, as well as from many church and humanitarian organizations. However, as with all things, the coverage of Haiti slowly faded…

…and we forgot.

For the rest of the world, life went back to normal, but not for the millions of Haitians who lost loved ones, had their homes destroyed or their way of life taken from them in a matter of seconds.

However, stories of hope are rising up in Haiti in the form of still-ongoing relief efforts, as well as a people who have found ways to be innovative in making new lives for themselves. The school system has seen a huge overhaul and is working to function better than before. New churches are springing up all around the country, and old ones are seeing higher attendance than ever before.

However, a general theme is found in what Haitian people are saying to the rest of the world. The words spoken by the people of Haiti are simple: “Don’t forget…”

After years of wondering what my dad meant when he had spoken that simple phrase to me, I finally asked him a few years into my college career. As he looked at me, a genuine, heartfelt smile spread across his face as he slowly said to me

“Don’t forget…I love you.”

The love my father has shown me over the course of my life has shaped my view of community and the way I show love to others. See community does not forget to love because community is built around the idea of love.

The reason Haiti is seeing hope is due to the fact that people have not forgotten to take time to love. Community is being built in Haiti the same way it is built anywhere else – by showing the love to others which Christ showed to us. When we were at our worst, He did not forget us, nor will he ever forsake us. In fact, as we are called to pick up our crosses and follow Him, we are shown how to love the same way He loved us.

It’s through this process that our ability to love and experience community is built. Community relies on a love so strong that it does not forget those who are hurting and broken and in need. Community needs people who follow in the example of Christ to speak the words “Don’t forget…”

In the light of Christ’s unfailing love, may we truly come to a more complete understanding of what it means to experience community.

Diary of a Wimpy Man

Ok, its time for me to come clean - I am a wimp!

When I was in first grade, I cried on the playground when two other boys told me I couldn't play Cops and Robbers with them.

I don't like pain - I can handle it, but I don't like it.

I'm not huge on change - I prefer to be comfortable rather than feeling like I'm constantly having to adapt to a changing environment.

I have an irrational fear of being thrown into a pool while wearing a sweater - strange I know, but its one of my nightmares!

And, to get to what sparked this thought process, I have a tendency to think that when I have a bad day at work that I am "suffering for Christ." When I read verses like this 1 Peter 4:12 - "Dear friends don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you" - I think I can identify with the suffering that Peter is writing about.

However, Peter was telling them not to be surprised that Christians were being killed everyday. He was telling them not to be surprised when the heads of the martyrs were placed on stakes outside the city walls.

What I don't think he was telling them was to not be surprised when they face fiery trials, such as an annoying meeting at work or leadership who, at times, just don't seem to understand the big picture. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but I do feel pretty confident in saying that I don't think that's what Peter was referring to. Don't get me wrong, I think God cares about us even through annoying meetings and being thrown in a pool with a sweater on, but neither of these compares with the suffering Peter was explaining.

After a rough meeting this morning, my day was really put into perspective when I read an article in Relevant Magazine that was written by the pastor of St. George's Church in Baghdad, Iraq. (I'm not sure if I could fit any more links into one sentence.)

In the past year, this church of 3,700 members has seen 93 of its brothers and sisters martyred. That's almost 3% of its congregation who is no longer attending because they have lost their lives for the name of Christ!

In the month of December alone, a total of around 100 Iraqi Christians were killed.

St. George's has bomb barricades and armed guards who surround the church to keep it from being destroyed, and to keep its congregation and pastor from being killed.

I think the Iraqi Christians can identify very strongly with what Paul writes in Romans 8:36 - "As it is written, 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'" Yet, our brothers and sisters in Iraq are not shy about their faith. Many openly wear a cross around their neck. All of them are subject to a tax simply because they are not Muslim. All who wish to attend worship services must do so on a work day, as Sunday is not a traditional day off work in the Muslim world. Needless to say, it's very difficult for Christ-followers in Iraq to just "blend in."

The pastor of St. George's describes their willingness to stand for Christ this way: "In the midst of the difficulties we know without doubt our God is the only way..."

This sounds very familiar to what another writer said about facing very real, life threatening persecution for following Christ: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." (Romans 8:18 - 19)

In Iraq, the children of God are not only revealed, but they are taking a stand. They have taken up their crosses daily. They are not surprised at the fiery trials they are going through. Rather, they fully understand that their present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in them.

So as I read that article this morning, I decided it was time to come clean - I am a wimp! I am truly humbled by seeing what our brothers and sisters are facing.

Yet I am encouraged by the fact that the same promises that hold true for the Christ-followers who suffer in His name daily hold true for me as well. For whatever reason, God has called us among His prized possessions. Even in our weakness, strength becomes evident as we place our full trust in Him. Even at the core of who I am - the wimpy, sweater-in-pool-hating man - God sees the potential for greatness and has called me His child.

And that gives rise to a hope that does not disappoint!