When it is all stripped away...

I first heard of CRASH Japan through facebook, after March 11, 2011, when the terrible earthquake followed by the tsunami hit Japan.  CRASH Japan, or Christian Relief Assistance Support Hope serves local churches in Japan by mobilizing the body of CHrist to bring help and hope to people affected by disasters.  Our church raised some money and sent it to assist as part of our response.  We also told everyone to pray.

But I have to admit part of me assumed Japan would be 'fine'.  After all, Japan isn't Haiti.  They have money, I told myself.  They have technology.  Yes, this was terrible, but they will be fine.  The Japanese people are a very resilient people.

And as other world news happened and took over the old news of Japan, so I also began to 'move on'.  I did wonder every now and then how Japan was coping, especially as CRASH Japan's facebook page reminded me every now and again that there was still work there.  But these were only fleeting moments.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I found out the President of CRASH Japan, Jonathan Wilson, was on a North American tour to share the news on Japan and raise awareness, and that he was in Toronto for 2 days.  I thought this would be a great opportunity for us here in Toronto to hear first hand what was going in Japan.

So several nights ago I had the privilege to hear Jonathan Wilson speak at our church.   As I sat there and began listening, I was not only touched by the needs but I realized I had missed a key thing every time I thought or prayed for Japan all year long.

An industrialized and wealthy country may be able to provide new roads, new houses, blankets and water to people devastated by disaster.  But they do not know how to heal the heart from wounds to the soul.  They cannot give peace to a life that witnessed real fear when faced with fierce forces of mother nature.

They cannot bring hope to the hopeless that goes beyond physical or even emotional needs.  True Hope that is resilient to any circumstance, good or bad, only comes from one source:  Jesus Christ.

And right then I realized I had oh so often in the last year prayed that God provide only physical and emotional healing to Japan, forgetting that there is a deeper wound, a spiritual one.  The stuff that had been hiding the deep spiritual vacuum that we all yearn to fill has been stripped away leaving the raw and real needs the soul has.  The question is:  how do you package HOPE?  how do you deliver HOPE?  how do you share HOPE?

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Jonathan also shared about the churches in Japan.  Did you know that Japan is among the least-reached nations of the world?

Jonathan told us that one day, before the disaster, he spoke to a group of Japanese pastors and asked them, "if today your church were to disappear, would your community notice and grieve the loss?"  Sadly, at the time, the pastors said "No, they would not notice"

But since the disaster the state of Japanese churches in Japan has changed.  The walls have come down literally and figuratively.  Communities now know these church communities exist.  The walls are no longer there and the body of Christ is shining light and hope in their communities.  Churches across denominations are now working together as one.

This caused me to ponder:  would the community in my church notice?  I did not like my answer...

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We package HOPE in all of us who have experienced true and lasting HOPE in Jesus Christ.
We deliver HOPE when we are willing to go beyond our church walls to the community in need.
We share HOPE when we are willing to open our mouths, extend our hands and move our feet.

And it's not just Japan - God used Japan to remind me once again - Hope for the Hopeless - It took a tsunami disaster for the church in Japan to wake up to its calling to reach out to their communities.  

The question is - 

Am I willing to be one of the messengers?

I wonder what kind of thing will it take for my community, my family, me....to cause us to strip away our walls so that we may see the void in people's hearts, knowing we have the answer in Jesus, all this time.

Am I willing to be one of the messenger?

Or are we so comfortable, selfish and blinded to think that no one else needs it?  To think that wealth and prosperity is enough?  To think that there is always 'tomorrow'?


Do not forget Japan - pray, go, give....the work is not done...and neither is our work here, wherever you are!


Perhaps sometimes we do need God to strip away things blinding us.