We are coming up on the one year memorial of the triple disaster (9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and then nuclear crisis) in northern Japan. At 2:46 pm on March 11, 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami took well over 15,000 lives in a matter of minutes. We grive, and long for restoration and renewal in Japan through Jesus Christ.
No human knows why God allows such natural disasters to occur . We do know that we live in a fallen world in which things are not the way they are supposed to be. We must remember that, "when we can't trace His hand, we can trust His heart."
God's plan is to give shalom ("wholeness" [Jeremiah 29:11], and "abundant life" [John 10:10]) to the world. He does it through the cross and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We are made to know His shalom.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile." (Jeremiah 29:11-14)
I have started posting some artwork that I found in order to remind us to remember to pray for the people there, which still have a very long way to go in terms of relief work and community development.
Grace City Relief is hosting a memorial concert on March 10 for the hundreds of volunteers who have participated in the work. On March 11, there will be a special service in Ishinomaki, the community to which our team, Grace City Church Tokyo, has made a long-term commitment to serve.
Reflections on mission to Japan's next generation
