“. . . they shall beat their swords into ploughshares ,and
their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Isaiah
2:4
When the kingdom of God comes to fruition, the nations
will learn war no more. Obviously, we
are far from the fulfillment of the kingdom.
At this time, war is on the minds of people around the world. There are
so many questions, but no good answers.
In my heart, I believe most people want to protect those who are being
cruelly killed or forced to flee their homes. The question is, how do we
protect a people without killing other people?
How do we keep from killing more innocents, and displacing more people
into refugee status? But, can we ignore
the fact that people are dying every day?
Syria is only one warzone in our world, but in that area
alone, over 100,000 people have been killed in the last 2 ½ years. The heinousness of the weapons ratcheted up
recently with the use of chemical and incendiary weapons. “Conventional” weapons are horrible enough,
but chemical weapons can kill large numbers of people (and every other living
creature) very quickly. It took about 45
minutes for 1425 innocent people to die a couple of weeks ago in Syria. That’s why the world has agreed that no one
can use chemical weapons!
I don’t know about you, but the situation makes me feel
anxious, frustrated, disheartened, and worst of all, helpless. But we are not helpless! There are things we can do to understand the
situation better. There are things we
can do to help.
First, educate yourself.
There is power in knowledge. Know
as much as you can before you vote, or before you speak out for or against an
action. I found the PBS Newshour
(website & TV) helpful, for its explanation of the major ethnic groups in
the area, the complexities of the situation, and for its intelligent conversation
from a variety of perspectives. I refuse
to listen to those who are angry, strident, and who refuse to consider other
opinions. May I humbly recommend that
you don’t either?
Second, pray.
There is power in prayer. Open
your heart and mind to what God may reveal to you. Pray for peace. Speak up for peace. Be a peacemaker. None of us can know the mind of God
perfectly; we all fall short, make mistakes and fail. When I err, though, I pray that I err on the
side of compassion.
Third, help those in need. This is one thing on which all followers of
Christ can agree. God’s people need help.
The number of refugees from Syria, I believe, has topped 2 million. Hundreds of thousands were absorbed into the
homes of their neighbors in Jordan, Turkey, and other surrounding
countries. But now, there are hundreds
of thousands in refugee camps – and that number is growing every day. The U.N. is doing heroic, life-saving,
humanitarian work with refugees, providing water, food, shelter, and
sanitation. Those who work with Doctors Without Borders are true
heroes. They bravely walk into harm’s
way to care for those who can’t get out of harm’s way. They were there when the chemical weapons
were deployed and the incendiary bombs were dropped on a school. The International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies are working diligently in the area, as
well. We can support those who are
helping the victims of war. We can speak up for them, and we can support them
financially.
Living in the already-but-not-yet kingdom is not easy,
especially in times like this. But we
can go on because we have hope that comes from the One who preached the
Politics of Compassion. We have hope because we believe that Love triumphs over
hatred, Light overcomes the darkness, and goodness and the will of God prevails.
God’s Peace be with you, my
brothers and sisters,
Rita
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