"Where was you at?"

It is no secret that the devastation from hurricane Katrina is on everybody's mind.

I find that I cannot escape the clutch of Katrina, even on ESPN. Maybe we are supposed to see these images, the video footage. Everytime I see/hear it, I feel a conviction within me to react. I feel that Christ would have not been able to eat, sleep, or simply be without hurting so deeply for those that are suffering.

I recently challenged my youth group at Lake Cities to take action. The Holy Spirit was evidently present in our youth room as we had a brainstorming session about what could/should be done. You would have been amazed...

I was on fire, ready to help, ready to sacrifice... and then I went home.

As I sat at home, the weight of what we had discussed in class hit me. I felt I was challenged by the exact same questions that I asked of my youth group.
"What can I do?"
"Can I make a difference?"
"Does anybody really care?"

Maybe we are not supposed to "escape" Katrina. This is not some commercial calling for the aid of a third world country. A commercial that is over if I just change the channel...

I heard Deion Sanders issue a challenge to all professional athletes to donate $1,000 each to the relief effort.

Here is my challenge:

Continue to watch the footage on CNN. Don't change the channel. Burn these images into your eyes, hears, mind, heart and soul. Let them simmer there until you have no choice but to react. React when you feel that conviction. When we begin to challenge that conviction, we begin to challenge the calling of Christ. Find a way to make a constant reminder that there is help that can be done.

"For I was hungry and you feed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me."
"Truly, I say to you. In as much as you have done for the least of these, you have done it to me." - Matthew 25: 35-36, 40

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

Don't change that dial...

M@