The Finger of God

Melissa: "Is there an F5? . . . What would that be like?"

'Preacher' Rowe: "The Finger of God."

That quote, from the movie "Twister", echoes a phrase used by some storm chasers to describe the the most destructive of tornadoes. Insurance companies sometimes refer to damage like what happened in Joplin on May 22nd, 2011, as an "Act of God".

The storm, though, reflects the presence of God only in that He is the creator of the world and of weather. He blessed the earth with a complex climate system that provides the regularity of seasonal change, bringing life-giving rain, snows that blanket the slumbering winter ecosystem, and sunshiny days for baseball games. That same climate can turn against itself, spawning blizzards and floods and even a history-making tornado season like the Spring of 2011.

But I saw God's presence in other ways in the wake of that storm.

♦ When news of the Joplin destruction came on that early Sunday evening, my son, Cody, along with thousands of other emergency workers throughout the Midwest, responded instinctively with one determined thought: I need to be there and help.

As Cody wrote later, "I can still remember the feeling. I lost all desire for chasing. All I wanted to do was push the pedal to the floor and drive south and not stop until I got to Joplin." (http://midweststormchaser.tumblr.com/)

By the time Cody and his friends had finished their first day of recovery work in Joplin, there were so many firefighters, EMTs, police officers, medical workers and other first responders in the town, all of them having dropped everything and headed for Joplin, that they were told to go on back to their jobs if they needed to.  the response to the need was overwhelming.

For Cody and many other trained emergency responders, the urge to act, the urge to help people in trouble, comes from something deep inside that has been there since they were born. Many of them are not at all aware of it, but they are working out what God worked in when He created them in His image. The God who saves revealed Himself that week in the actions and lives of the many rescuers who dropped everything and headed to Joplin.

♦ On that same evening, in the town of Joplin itself, another friend of mine dropped everything and moved to respond. Jay St. Clair, Community Outreach Minister at College Heights Christian Church in Joplin, heard the news and immediately headed out to the damaged part of the city. For the next week and more, he rarely slept, spending his time organizing recovery efforts, recruiting help, arranging for emergency shelter and food and water. Jay and the other volunteers from his church were the hands and feet and heart of God in the midst of the devastation - and they continue to do so still.  (Read more HERE)

♦ At my home church in Columbia, MO, the response was also quick.  Blue Ridge Christian Church includes some members who are former residents of Joplin and who have friends and relatives living in Joplin.  By the morning after the tornado, plans were in motion to collect needed water and food and other supplies being requested by our contacts in Joplin.  By mid-week the church building looked more like a garage sale than a church building.  People from the neighborhood who were not even affiliated with the congregation dropped off supplies and volunteered help.  A crew from the church drove to Joplin toward the end of the week to deliver supplies and offer assistance.  They were eager to go, eager to do what Jesus would do, to let Jesus shine through them.  (See more HERE)

♦ This coming weekend Mizzou Baseball is hosting a pair of exhibition games against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Taylor Stadium in Columbia.  All proceeds will go toward the Joplin Little League, to help rebuild and resupply their program.   (Details about the Mizzou-Iowa Joplin Relief Game HERE)

Raising money for kids to play ball may seem like a small thing compared to lives lost and entire neighborhoods destroyed.  But for those kids, the people who buy tickets and otherwise contribute to MU's recovery efforts are burden-lifters. It's an opportunity for those kids and their community to return to something approaching life as it was before the storm.

It's just a game, just a fund-raiser, no religious trappings at all.  But those who know the heart of God see His compassion and mercy displayed in the efforts of Tim Jamieson and his team, and in every 5-dollar bill spent on a ticket to help the needy.

God reveals himself in the most unlikely of people and places, even if those people don't even know it.

That's the finger of God you feel touching your heart, giving you a gentle shove in the back to lend a hand.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61