by Marilyn Ehle
“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat wellâ€â€”but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and uselessâ€. James 2:14-17
I write these words two days after the catastrophic earthquake that devastated the country of Haiti. Every where I turn I see images of people walking through rubble with dazed, empty eyes, women holding their dead or dying babies, children huddled on the street with only rags covering them. I hear the “I-can’t-believe-what-I’m-seeing†voices of reporters experienced with the reality of war but never before seeing anything like this.
A disturbing thought creeps into my consciousness: why is all this only information to me? I make arrangements to send money; I listen to friends who are in the midst of the adoption process and now wonder if their “children†are even alive; I pray. But why is my heart not broken? Why am I not weeping?
Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, visited Korea in the 1950’s and saw the devastation of war. He was tormented by the vision of suffering and dying of Korean children. And he prayed, “Break my heart with what breaks the heart of God.â€
I have heard that story; I have shared those words with others, but one glaring question faces me with neon-like brilliance: “Do I want my heart broken?†Perhaps you, like I, have had your heart broken at the death of a loved one. Perhaps you have suffered the disaster of divorce, or chronic pain from an illness for which there is no cure. We know what a broken heart feels like and we’re not sure we want another one.
In his book, The Hole In Our Gospel, Richard Sterns, the current president of World Vision, writes, “Bob knew that he could not love somebody else’s kids the way God did. No (one) can unless God breaks that individual’s heart. Only then can he or she—or we—care as God cares and love as He loves. That’s why we must pray constantly (emphasis mine) that God will soften our hearts so we see the world the way He sees it.â€
The question remains: do I want a broken heart?
Father, I sit at the crossroad of faith and action. I want to serve you by serving others but a broken heart hurts so much. Help me.
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https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/01/18/me_broken-heart/