if you love God, you love His people

November 30, 2004

"and He has given us this command: whoever loves God must also love his brother." - 1 john 4:12 [NIV]

for a while, i've been wondering why i'm so onboard with social justice. i wonder why every time i read an article about the amount of poverty and social injustice in toronto, my heart breaks and at the same time, gets angered at the lack of action. and then, one day it hits me. "if you love God, you love His people." it was as simple as that. that's a phrase i've heard time and time again, and yet while i've understood that, i don't think i really experienced what it meant, until recently.

i've been reading the paper every morning, checking out what the issues are in toronto on a day-to-day basis. in addition, i've been researching about the working poor (for my newsletter). i've also been talking to jer a lot about different social issues like education, child care and affordable housing. and knowing what i know now, though extremely small, i cannot sit idly by and stay apathetic. my heart breaks every time i read a story about another working person who lives on the street because there's no affordable housing or that the line up for affordable housing continues to grow, now at about 65,000 people. i get angered when i read that the ontario government cancelled all social housing programs in the 1990s and is not interested in tapping in to the $384 million that the federal government granted for such a purpose.

God's heart beats for everyone on planet earth. that includes those we often forget about, those that society doesn't care about, those that have been dealt a tough hand and are faced to deal with it on their own. and as Christians, are we the ones actively helping to change those injustices or do we simply act as anyone else would, apathetic?

we live our lives in extraordinary comfort and relative ease and hardly think about our fellow neighbour. yes, part of this is because of our own ignorance. part of it is because we're lazy. and part of it is because we simply don't care enough, or may i suggest that we do not love God enough? it's a tough question to swallow, and i am in no way exempt from it. because while i'm so onboard with getting awareness out and getting people involved, i have yet to do so myself. no time i say, i'm too busy managing myself, school and church. i wish i had more time in the day to be able to volunteer and make a difference in the community. that's my heartbeat. i just hope and pray that through my church fellowship (SALT), we'll be able to accomplish that.

all this may sound very negative, but there is hope. i believe God is stirring in this generation to care more about social justice. i've been hearing that campus and church groups have been more active in learning about social justice and even volunteering down at shelters, food banks, etc. it's exciting! i hope that through more awareness, the church will become what it's meant to be. a lighthouse to the community. a place where social action is just as common as a sunday morning sermon. a place that is buzzing with people expressing their gratitudes to the Lord with an overabundance of joy. and all that happening because of the church's demonstration of Christ's love through action. this isn't some idealistic dream. it's possible, friends. the early church modelled it in acts 2:44-47 [NIV], "all the believers were together and had everything in common. selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

that's the dream. that's the hope. amen.

in midst of suffering: the story of marc woerlen

November 17, 2004

last week, one of the most horrific residential fires in the history of ontario took place, claiming the lives of eight people: the seven children and wife of marc woerlen. they all perished in the blaze. below is marc's journey through this very, very trying time. i'd ask for you to pray for this brother, that he'd find strength, peace and comfort, that he'd understand God's soveriegn plan, and that his life and faith in Christ would inspire those around him, as i'm sure he has been. my heart breaks for him and his family.

for further readings, check out (listed in chronological order):

community, relatives mourn family killed in fire

eight fire victims mourned at funeral

family farewell echoes anguish, faith

man who lost family in fire finds strength in faith

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'Just trying to come to grips'
Grieving father says each day is test of his faith
Recalls time spent with family before deadly fire

Written By Sonia Verma, Staff Reporter

West Lincoln—Every morning Marc Woerlen wakes up in a quiet house. And in that silence he hears echoes of his past:

The phantom sound of children scrambling from bed to breakfast table; the rumble of a schoolbus; a chorus of goodbyes. Sometimes his ears still tickle with tiny voices singing a Sunday school hymn.

And then it hits him: These things aren't real.

That is when he reaches to the bedside table for his Bible and says this prayer: "God grant me the power to take each day at a time."

It is the only way he knows how to cope.

Exactly one week has passed since he returned home to find the farmhouse he shared with his wife and seven children burned to the ground. All eight died.

"It still hasn't really hit me," he said last night, slowly sipping a glass of water at the kitchen table of his parents' bungalow with a steady hand.

"You're wondering whether your life is really true. You're not sure if you're dreaming," he said.

In the corner of the kitchen, the high chair where each of his children once sat now holds a bouquet of flowers left over from their funeral.

Marc still wears the wedding band his wife Monika had placed on his left hand.

The fire happened just a few days before the anniversary of the day he proposed, on Remembrance Day, a dozen years ago.

"I try to live a day at a time. My only plan is to make it to heaven so I see them again," he said, with quiet composure.

Marc has returned to what remains of his farmhouse only a few times. There is nothing there left for him to see, he says.

"Ashes, charred wood, burned shingles ... I prefer to look at the eyes of my beautiful children in photographs," he explains.

Officials believe the blaze started in the living room. Truth be told, Marc Woerlen doesn't need to know what caused the fire. It is hard enough for him to live with its consequences.

"You can't change the past. Speculation makes the wounds go deeper," he says.

He takes comfort in the fact that the coroner has ruled his family likely died in their sleep, from smoke inhalation.

"They didn't suffer great pain," he says.

Through his fog of grief, he still feels lucky for the time spent together as a family.

As farmers, the Woerlens worked hard, but lived a life that allowed them to share many special moments together.

"It was a busy life, but we spent a fair bit of time together," he said.

"When I was working in the fields, I'd come home and have a coffee with my wife, or take my kids with me to the hardware store. I feel very privileged to spend those extra hours with them," he said.

His last living memory of his family was on Sunday night. They had spent the day together in this southern Ontario community, as they always did.

The next morning, Marc was scheduled to drive up to Ottawa to help his brother Tim with the harvest. That night, he kissed each child good night. The next morning he kissed Monika goodbye. He told them he'd see them when he got back.

Saturday, he buried them side by side in a cemetery.

He can't imagine a future without them.

"I am just trying to come to grips that they're gone," he said.

He sees the rest of his life as a test of his faith in God.

"It will be a long time to live without them," he reflects.

If he passes this test of faith, his reward will be an afterlife spent with them. For Marc Woerlen, heaven is a place that resembles the life he once had.

It was a happy one spent in the arms of his wife and children.

i'm back!

November 11, 2004

after almost a year of retirement from the acoustic guitar, i can gladly say that i'm back. the pain? it's not gone, but i figure if my hands hurt regardless if i play guitar or not, there's no sense to not play anymore. :) so i've been taking it easy. slowly but surely easing back into the guitar scene. i remember in may when i tried playing guitar for 5 minutes, my hands hurt for a week. i don't think playing guitar hurts me anymore. i talked with my rheumatolgist about playing guitar and she said it was fine, so long as i was careful about it.

so what better way to break back into guitar than recording something? i bought this usb audio box that lets me plug my guitar and mic into my mac. here's a song i did, it's by phil wickham called "you are everything." it's unpolished. there's some parts where it gets off a bit.

http://www.pixelsparks.com/lc_youareeverything.mp3

right click the link, go to "save target as" or if you're on a mac, "download linked file" to download it.

i'd love to hear what you guys think. and do be honest!

remember

today is remembrance day. it's a day to remember those who willingly gave their lives in exchange for our freedom. i've been reading a lot of articles in the toronto star about people's opinions on remembrance day. there was one that really struck me. the author wrote about how she went to a cemetery to visit a grave, and how beautiful it was. there was so much life there, and rightfully so. in fact, there was a squirrel there that would eat from your hand! meaning, that people went there frequent enough for the squirrel to build that relationship with humans.

as she was leaving, she noticed another part of the cemetery. it was dark. there was no life there, as if no one had ever visited there. she asked her friend about that. that section, was in fact, the section for our Canadian soldiers. forgotten and abandoned. that stirred something in my heart. how could we be so heartless?

i'm not advocating for us all to rise up and swell with canadian pride here. but what scares me the most, is that we treat our Lord & Saviour that same way. Christ's sacrifice for us bought us our freedom. we deserved death and punishment for our sins, but by the mercy and grace of our God, He sent His Son instead. our condemnation and bondage was exchanged for freedom. colossians 1:12-14 [NIV]. "for He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves."

such an unfathomable act should be remembered. it should be the thing we're talking about to everyone! but, like our soldiers' graves, it's forgotten. is that how we thank our God for His abounding love for us? is that how we repay Him? it breaks my heart to know that i am guilty of such an heinous act.

it's so sad to think we need days like communion sunday and Christmas to remember our Lord and His sacrifice, but that's how we are. we forget. if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. we only remember when it's dear to our hearts, when we cherish it. we need to move to a place where we are constantly awe-struck and floored by the amazing love of our wonderful God. and that, my friends, starts at the Cross. that starts when we remember.