Sometimes, most times lately, I wonder what has happened to people who are supposed to have a heart, faith, belief in the good of people. Instead I see more and more people trying to justify how they feel, cold to the facts. They use God and their Bible to quote scriptures, while there are people dying of hunger, trapped in cages, begging in the street. I wonder then, where are you people of faith? Faith is an action word. Not a political battle.
faith (noun) 1. complete trust in someone or something. synonyms: trust, believe, confidence, conviction, credence, reliance, dependence; optimism, hope, expectation
This last week I asked my prayer warriors to pray for a young woman who is dying. Only about four people listened. Over a year ago, Erika and her family moved across the country, so she could go to the Cleveland Clinic. She vomits blood, her appendages swell to the extent she feels she is carrying another person. Her skin peels. Her liver is dying. “Mommy can’t do this much longer,” she tells five-year-old Loie.
“But Mommy, that means you will die.”
Erika and her husband have been in an ongoing battle with insurance. She has been on the liver transplant list three times. Erika’s liver was damaged during surgery. She was finally free of cancer but now needed a liver. Her first donor liver was available but too large for her. So they sent her to the end of the list. She was kicked off again. I won’t get into the whole story here, but you can find it on CNN’s site. The cancer tried to get her, but she conquered it.
What has happened to faith? It seems to have slipped through the cracks. Faith is not just in a church. Faith is a belief, a trust, a hope, an expectation that things can be better. It is a noun; however, I feel it is also a verb. Faith calls everyone to action.
The thousands came from all over, immigrants and all others. Christ fed them all. He didn’t turn away from the sick or the sinner. Faith does not reside in a church. It resides in you and me. I have faith in people and am so hurt when they fall short. Faith is not based on truth. It is based on trust. Yes, this week I am saddened. People all over the world cry out, but few listen.
What is worse is that people just don’t care. They believe God will take care of them. It’s not their problem. There is a song I love: We are His hands; we are His feet; we are His children, people of the world.
I close this column asking you to pray for Erika Zak. She is beyond being able to help herself.
