Colossians 1:28-29 – Hope In Haiti: Part 2

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:28-29 ESV)

From the outside looking in, sending food and other aid seems the most logical answer in helping impoverished nations like Haiti. But the answer is actually found in giving them hope, something to live for, joy and a peace that passes all understanding.

That only comes from Jesus Christ.

A bag of rice lasts a family of eight less than a month. Then what? What about three or four months down the road? How about next year?

Let’s instead ask this question: How about their grandchildren’s grandchildren?

If the world would truly serve Haiti it will be in provision of something lasting, stable, and eternally valuable. That requires a measure of care far heavier than a bag of rice. It requires a real and genuine love.

The purpose of a Christian is not only to love and to serve, running kids to the hospital, buying rice and oil, and sponsoring kids for school, but to express the reason behind that love. Because Jesus calls us to serve, we serve. Because Jesus loves, we love. For my family, God showed us that expressing that love meant laying down our desires, our dreams, our goals, and our lives.

This is why I give the Bible, God’s love letter to us all.

His Word has been the single most effective tool I’ve ever seen in repurposing the human heart. I’ve seen people walk for ten miles down a mountain trail better suited for a billy goat for the first Bible in their family’s history. I’ve seen them cradle it like a newborn baby; even smell its pages. They have a hunger of which our generation has no understanding.

Each day is different, because the purpose of every morning is to hand it over to God with one question: “Lord, where are you working today, and how can we help?”

Guest devotion by Dan Elliott. Dan is a missionary who sold everything, left America, and started Bibles For Haiti—an organization that does exactly what it sounds like. Learn more about Dan and Bibles For Haiti visit biblesforhaiti.org. This post is adapted from “Haiti Ever After,” the interactive online story of Bibles For Haiti. You can see more, here.