United We Stand

“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Mark 3:24

Sadly, what came to my mind with this verse is our beloved country, the Philippines. We are so divided, so disunited. We are divided into factions and it is obvious that our current government wants to keep it that way. 

But there is one thing that united a majority of us. When Taal Volcano erupted, all the people in the 14 km. danger zone had to be evacuated to safer ground. There were more than 400,000 evacuees who stayed in more than 600 evacuation centers in Batangas and nearby provinces. 

It was heartening to see how many donated, how many volunteered to pack and bring water, food, beds, clothes, etc to Batangas. Food kitchens were set up, and warm meals distributed. The roads to Batangas were sometimes so filled with cars, trucks and even motorcycles on the way to bring relief goods. Chinese, Syrian, Indian, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, they all went and helped. We all felt compassion for those who could not go back to their homes, who could not take care of their livelihood, and their animals, and we prayed the volcanic activity die down. Now that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) lowered the alert level of Taal Volcano from 4 to 3, let us continue to pray that Taal will no longer be restive. 

More importantly, let us humbly ask God to heal our land, for moral reformation. United, we stand. Divided, we fall.