(Photo credit JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images)

earthquake destroyed its capital?” I asked as I watched the clip. (Fortunately there are high profile Christians like Michael Horton who put into perspective this type of prophetic pandering.

(NOTE: for a healthy biblical perspective on God and disasters listen to this NPR interview with John Piper on the heels of the 2005 Tsunami that devastated Indonesia and parts of Thailand).

Is Robertson’s declaration that this is God’s judgment on Haiti for having made a pact with the devil an appropriate response? It’s a question I’ve been wrestling with for the past few days as I’ve watched clips, read stories and followed photo essays coming out of Haiti. My response is no, it is not appropriate and here are a few things I’ve concluded about being a Christian at times like these.

(Photo credit DANIEL MOREL/AFP/Getty Images)

NO ONE has a right to presume to know the mind of God, let alone speak with an air of authority regarding that presumption. I do know that NOTHING happens in this world without God’s approval and He has a purpose – His purpose – for all He allows (Isaiah 46:9-10). Only God sees all of history before Him at once and knows exactly how this quake fits into His eternal plan. To cherry pick a prophesy is to reveal theological shallowness.

I must feel compassion for the suffering of the people. The Christian who is not moved to compassion  – and worse yet allows the thought that this is somehow deserved – is a legalist at best and heartless at worst, and I’d seriously question that person’s claim of salvation.(“…Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”)

My compassion must motivate me to do something. I may not be in a position to give or go, but I can certainly pray. Pray for the people, for workers trying to help, for suffering to be assuaged, for the Gospel to be preached and for God to save thousands.

My actions of compassion must NOT be devoid of the Gospel. There is no way to alleviate all the human suffering of this world and especially in a situation like this. Physical suffering in this world is a visual representation of a spiritual reality: Sin causes suffering; has from the beginning and will until the end. God has placed the earth under a curse (Romans 8:19-23). Nothing man does is going to change that reality but we are called by God to apply ourselves to good works while seeking to share a remedy (the Gospel) for man’s greatest need (forgiveness of sin to be reconciled to God). Failing to do this is not compassionate. In fact it is cruel. To be so close as to extend clean water to someone yet not share the Gospel is to alleviate a temporal need while withholding  hope that quenches his or her eternal need.

Every Christian should watch the news coming out of Haiti with a great deal of soul searching, a healthy amount of compassion and a deep desire to see Jesus become very real in the lives of the suffering masses.

I’ve been chasing that question for about two months now. Some journeys take longer than others. There is simply too much to see.

I’ve been reading through Philippians but haven’t made it much past 1:27. That verse begins with the admonishment to “live in a manner worthy of the gospel.”

So, what does that mean? A similar question is: “What does it mean to be a Christian?”

Here’s why the questions are so important: There are people in the world who appear to be genuinely good people. I’m thinking of two as I write this. One is a Frenchman, Charles, who was the overnight manager at the hotel in which we stayed our first two nights in the UK. The second was a Thai waiter at a restaurant in the city near where we live. He went beyond service to helpfulness. These types of people deserve an answer to why their “goodness” isn’t good enough.

The first thought I had was, “What makes me better than them?” Immediately God reminded me there are no “good” people in the world.  A rush of Scripture verses flooded my mind reminding me and reprimanding me that I am not better than anyone: “There are NONE righteous, no not one…no one seeks for God” (Rom 3:10-11); “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:1-3).

The reality is that EVERY person who has every lived and will ever live stands squarely in the sites of God’s judgment. God is a good and benevolent God, yet a more accurate reading of the Bible forces one to deal with the reality that God is also a righteous and just God who is perfectly holy and requires perfect holiness.

God quickly reminded me that it was by His grace (Eph 2:4), through faith He granted that I have the opportunity to believe in what Jesus has done (Eph. 2:8), which was to satisfy God’s penalty for sin by being a perfect and righteous sacrifice (Rom 3:21-26). I contributed nothing but sin. He contributed perfect righteousness. Martin Luther called it “The Great Exchange.”

There is a path near my house that leads to the open area I often walk. The path is often mucky because of water runoff. Decomposing leaves contribute to the mess. Life is like that path. It is mucky. We experience disappointment, hardship, broken relationships, lost jobs, financial ruin, unmet expectations, etc., but these are actually byproducts of our greatest problem, which according to the Bible, is our separation from God. There is no hope that the mucky paths of life lead anywhere except to God’s judgment apart from Jesus. But it doesn’t have to.

So, what does it mean to be a Christian? I’ve settled on two things.

First, it means to glorify God. (Notice I didn’t say removal from the mucky path!) That’s what we were created for anyway. We were created to have fellowship with God, enjoying His presence and glorifying Him as infinitely worthy of our praise. As enemies of God we can’t do this, but once He grants salvation and restores for us what He intended from the beginning, then we are free to praise Him and make Him known to others walking life’s mucky path if they will turn from sin and believe in Jesus.

Second, as a Christian it means living in the reality that this world is NOT our home. I’ve met way too many Christians who talk about eternal life, being sojourners in this world, heavenly mansions, etc., yet live like this world is their destination. They cling to the materialism of this world and try to anchor their hearts to something tangible. We want to stop in the muck. I’ve been there. God has graciously taught me that my heart does want to anchor to something tangible, but that tangle thing MUST be unwavering confidence in the finished work of Christ that looks forward to the reality of delivered promises (Hebrews 11:1).

The mucky path near my house eventually opens into a field ringed with wild blackberries and gorgeous views of the countryside. Every living person is traveling the mucky path of life. However, a life worthy of the manner of the gospel ought to be a life lived in the recognition of our calling to glorify God (including sharing His glory with others) while looking forward to open the spaces that lie ahead.