Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 Today, I wanted to write something ‘light.’ Maybe tomorrow. Religious news is often incomplete. Or, worse, misunderstood and foolishly overlooked. As long ago as the assassination of John Kennedy, a major US newspaper eliminated the religious page “because there was too much news, and unimportant sections needed to be set aside.” Just this morning, there was an update on news about deaths in Nigeria. “Thirty one people are known dead, and others may be lost as well.” It was only when I tuned in to BBC on the satellite radio in the car that I heard the thirty one people were in church for worship when the assassin’s entered, locked the doors and brutally slaughtered those present. Persons trying to escape though windows were shot to death, as others were killed horribly with knife and machete. The invaders were described as an alleged Muslim radical group. I immediately did what many would: I prayed for those persons and families lost. Then the mood changed. It became, ‘Why would God allow such things to happen, and why didn’t God intervene immediately?” This is as biblical as it is personal: Psalm 94:3 “Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?” There are many other places in Scripture that ask similar questions. Christians are being persecuted and killed these days for being Christian. This kind of thing is wrong. Wherever it happens, and whenever. It’s always been and always will be wrong to murder. What makes all this doubly difficult for believers is the call for us to ‘love enemy as well as friend.’ (Matthew 5:44) A love stronger than hate, and more powerful than revenge is far beyond human ability. Yet it happens, I’m thinking of that frail looking Gideon speaker who brought a Bible and the love of God to the man in prison who killed his wife and daughter. Hatred and killing will be addressed. We need to find better ways than trying to kill what we oppose. What that usually does is empower those martyred. Further, I believe in the final triumph of good over evil, and that we will all be accountable to God. For goodness sake, no for God’s sake, let’s not let people who bear the name of a religion be the object of our scorn and opposition. It’s the radical element of religious groups that almost always deny the heart of their faith, and miss the point of their founders. All that said, those who believe strongly in God, and espouse Christian faith and life, need to pray as hard for the perpetrators of these crimes as we do for their victims. In our ‘human’ we’ll never get it done, but when the inspiration of the Holy Spirit comes, we are called to a view of things and a way of life that is unique to those who practice the Christian faith, and if well lived, will ultimately prevail. Always love, always, Keith
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:31:39 +0000
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