For the Sake of Hope

During the last month, the world has witnessed many acts of heroism whether they be from citizens of north african countries demanding better government or workers in Japan risking their own safety by working in a damaged nuclear plant trying to prevent additional radiation from leaking out. This story is from Voice of America:

"A dog rescued from the sea atop the floating debris of a house has been re-united with her owner, three weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.

Images on Japan's NHK TV showed the medium-sized brown dog, named "Ban," wagging her tail in the arms of her owner Monday at an animal shelter in the quake-battered region of Miyagi.

Ban was plucked off the wreckage of a house drifting almost two kilometers off the shore last week by a Japanese helicopter rescue crew.

The dog's owner, whose name was not made public, saw the rescue on television and rushed to claim her pet.

Thousands of people are still missing three weeks after the disaster, which left more than 12,000 dead and orphaned dozens of pets."

This traumatize animal captured the world's attention by surviving a situation in which so m any people perished. The tsunami washed on shore carrying entire buildings miles inland only to take them away as it retreated back into the sea. Apparently this canine's house was one of those structures.

With thousands of people dead and thousands more still missing, it could be considered peculiar that a mere dog would elicit such powerful emotions as the footage of his rescue spread around the globe. Certainly, there are many families in Japan that were hoping to see a similar rescue of their loved ones, praying that by some chance the people they cared about the most would find their ways home. Dogs are said to be "man's best friend" but those rescuers were not out searching for dogs lost at sea. Still, it was seen as a significant event that warmed so many hearts even in Japan where clean-up and recovery efforts are ongoing. Perhaps the reason for such a flood of positive feelings was what the pooch represents: hope through adversity. Maybe the feeling was that if a dog could survive for three weeks in a house floating offshore then the people of Japan could also find a way to persevere through what will be a long road to normalcy. The rescuers acted and the media reported for the sake of hope in difficult circumstances not necessarily because of the dog or his thankful owner.

As we conclude our discussion of sharing the Gospel, we should be mindful of why we share, why we act the way we do in our efforts to rescue those who are lost and in need of saving. In 1 Corinthians 9:23, Paul says that he does what he does for the sake of the Gospel. The Gospel is its own justification. It stands on its own. We need no other reason to share its blessings with others. Just as the Japanese rescuers saved that dog for the sake of hope, we share our knowledge of God’s fulfilled promise for the sake of that good news.