Rick Reflects: October 6, 2011

It happened . . .again.

One of the projects that had been in the works when I arrived in Haiti shortly after the earthquake was the purchase of some property for the John Wesley School in a poor urban neighborhood of Port au Prince, Haiti. There was a piece of land just behind the existing school that seemed idea for an expansion project. The earthquake slowed the process down but in the end we were forced to abandon the property purchase because we could not get clear title to the land. So we went to work and eventually found a very nice piece of property just down the street from the existing location. The building that had been on the lot collapsed with the earthquake and the site had already been cleared. It appeared ideal in every way. It was a bigger piece of property than our first attempt and for less money. We worked out a deal with the owner and began the paperwork to purchase it. After several months of work this purchase too fell through. It is owned by two brothers and only one will agree to the sale. Once again, we could not complete the deal because we could not get clear title to the land and so it is back to the drawing board.

Getting clear title to land is one of the major roadblocks to the rebuilding of Haiti after the earthquake. Most aid organizations are unwilling to invest in major building project where the ownership of the land is in question and rightly so. I have been told that as much as 60% of the land in Haiti does not have clear title. It is a difficult and complex problem that defies solution. Without clear title sooner or later chaos is inevitable.

In Mark 12:30 Jesus says the most important command is to:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
In other words, God wants clear title to His people. When we call Jesus “Lord” we are giving Him clear title to our lives. That is the essence of Lordship. The problem is, that we are often like the two brothers above. We intend for God to have clear title, but we hold back permission is some area’s of life. Sometimes the problem is rooted in our wishes and desires. When God’s word goes against what we want (it happens!) who wins? Sometimes the problem is outside issues. We are so worried about what people might think or say, we unintentionally give them more importance in our lives than God. I could go on but you get the idea. Faith works best when God has clear title to our lives. When our allegiances are divided, sooner or later the result will be chaos. Because we are imperfect beings living in a fallen world, there will always be area’s in our lives that need work. In your journey, where are you struggling to give God clear title in your life?

Rick

Cookie and I are supported in our work in Haiti by people like you. If you would like to be a part of our team and support us financially or prayerfully (both are needed) go to our website at www.servinghaiti.com where you will find links under the “Join Us” tab.

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