Country Chatter

I have been thinking about the negative reaction of some to bringing home the sick doctor and nurse from Liberia.  Maybe people are reacting out of fear of the unknown, or lack of knowledge.

Picture with me a family on vacation at the beach. The children are playing in the water and suddenly there are screams.  A child is swept out to sea in a riptide. Instantly and without consideration for his own safety the father leaps into action and does everything within his ability to save the child, even risking his own life.

Picture with me soldiers on a  battlefield. They are in a fierce, bloody battle and one of their own is hit by mortar and falls to the ground. A  soldier’s honor will not desert their fallen buddy-dead or alive- even at the risk of their own life.

Picture with me young men on a grueling trek to fulfill a lifelong dream by making it to the top of Mt. Everest.  Along the way one slips and falls off a cliff.  A rescue team is assembled to come to the aid of the fallen hiker. They use every available resource to make a safe rescue.

Picture with me a horrific accident on interstate between a tractor-trailer and numerous cars.  Suddenly one of the cars burst into flames. Bystanders spring into action when a frantic mother screams “my baby is in the back seat”.   They are driven by the desperate plight of one needing rescue.

There is something in our God-given nature that causes us to react and help in emergency situations with compassion for the fallen.  There is usually no wavering on the sidelines and no evaluation of a person’s worthiness, status or wealth.  Usually the rescuer does not even count the cost or risk to their own life.

Now think with me of the “fallen” doctor and nurse.  They have become victims of a vicious virus called Ebola.  They are Americans who have left the comforts of our country to minister to the “least of these” because they have felt the call of God to do so.  You can read their stories online.

They have chosen to leave extended family and friends, the lure of financially stable incomes and state-of-the-art medical facilities to help bring healing and hope in a country that has so little.  They have chosen to help those with little or no resources to help themselves.  They are driven by God’s call to love and show compassion by living among and helping those in an impoverished country.  Now they, the ones providing care and aid, are in desperate need of help and rescue in a life and death situation. How can we as fellow Americans stand smugly on our shores and show no compassion?  How can we not go to the rescue and especially when we have the resources to do so?  Would we not go even if there was a slight risk or would we leave them stranded?

Do we not hear our top medical professionals saying they can safely do this?  Do we not understand that we are privileged to have the best medical facilities in the world and we are equipped to handle this?  Do we not know that there are some who are really willing to put their own lives at risk to save another?  Have we not seen our country rush to the aid in many world disasters over and over and over, even to the risk of losing some of our own in the process?  Have we not seen and understand that safety IS a top concern and the utmost care IS being taken to protect all involved and not involved?

Heavenly Father grant us compassion and forgive us for our selfish fear and complacency.  Keep our hearts sensitive to the plight of others.  Grant us your wisdom.  Thank you for the ability our country has to be able to respond and help in times of disaster around the globe.  We pray for all those who have “fallen” to the plague of Ebola.  Thank you for those who are willing to put their lives on the “front-line” to rescue others in times of disaster whether it is an accident, disease or war. Amen

Maybe, just maybe, in bringing these two home it will help bring about huge advances in the medical field to find a cure and as a result thousands of others can be “rescued” from the death grip of Ebola.

Related Posts:

• Ebola in West Africa-Too close home
• The Battle is Not Ours