Thirsty? Here, Drink This.

Isaiah 12

I read an article today stating that the reason the Philippines experienced devastation by the earth's most powerful storm is because of their sinful lifestyle. The article was titled "God is Punishing the Philippines" and was written by a self-proclaimed Christian. I would offer a link to the article, but I was so disgusted by it that I honestly can't bring myself to share it with anyone.

However, what this article showed me is that there are still people in this world who don't fully understand that God is a God of compassionate love. It's a good thing we have the Prophets of Old to help remind us that even though things go really bad, we have a God who never leaves our side.

Marcus Borg says that the most primal needs of humankind are the same now as they've been for all of creation: to understand and find relationship with a higher being, and to live in peaceful unity among each other. When disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan strike an entire nation it becomes difficult for some to understand or be in relationship with a higher being.

What becomes most apparent in these situations is how the people of that nation come together to find that peaceful unity. Already we here stories of how villages are joining together to help out their neighbors and of how other nations are sending as much humanitarian aid as they can. People around the world understand that in times like this we don't accuse a people of being destined for destruction, instead we find a way to reach out and share in the pain they're feeling by also sharing in the strengthening of their physical, mental, and spiritual well beings.

That type of coming together is called compassionate love. It is shown and shared regardless of ethnicity, abilities, national loyalties, or religious beliefs. It's through the sharing of this compassionate love that a relationship with a higher being is felt. Somehow one just knows that when strangers come to your aid and offer you a glimpse of hope, that person brings with her or him a piece of God, regardless of who or what that person thinks God is.

There is a thirst out there for compassionate love, the same kind of love Jesus showed and taught us to live by. When we allow words and actions that speak to division and hate we aren't standing up for what Jesus calls us to do: to be a beacon of light in a dark world. Instead of letting our neighbors drink from an empty cup, let us fill that cup with enough hope, peace, joy, and love to quench as many thirsts as we can.