A Response to "Pat: for pete's sake, SHUT UP!!"

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Patrice,

I appreciate your willingess to give Pat the benefit of the doubt; I have no idea how I'd fare having to cover such a complex subject as the situation in Haiti within the limits of a television program.

I'm a little concerned about the comparison of what's going on there with a Christian's bout with cancer. It's been established through other posts and links that God does use natural disasters as both judgement and warning, and, while the Christian population in Haiti is around 84% according to Wikipedia, any missionary there can tell you they've retained their voodoo belief systems and tried to force Christianity into them (thereby ignoring the first and greatest commandment).

God has declared destruction on enemies of the faith before. His warning to Nineveh came in the form of a man, and when Jonah pronounced God's judgement on the city's inhabitants, they turned from their sin and called on God. I don't see why God could not be doing the same thing with Haiti at the present time; tragedy makes people contemplate eternity and their own mortality in ways that being drunk with sin will never do.

From what I've read about your friend, though, there was no suspicion of wanton sin or disobedience in his life. In his case, he entered into (albeit to a greater extent than what many of us will ever endure) what all believers are guaranteed throughout the New Testament, which is sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Enduring suffering draws us closer to Him and shapes our godly character.

On a macro level, things are pretty simple: God pronounces judgement on nations that are disobedient and blessings on nations that obey Him and His commandments. On an individual level, the situation is far more complex. Here, He lets rain fall on the just and the unjust. He lets the wicked prosper for a time (this is the rain mentioned in Matthew 5:45), that they may be given the opportunity to repent. For those that do not turn from their ways, however, He promises a dark end (Psalm 73). For the believer, we are promised His provision for our needs, but also suffering. We endure the trials of this life, for it is in our end that prosperity lies.