Evil has a face...Again!

 

The last time I wrote a post like this was when Putin invaded Ukraine. I said he was the new Stalin and labeled his actions evil. The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the acquisition of land, and the attempt to wipe a nation off the map...and if that does not work, to kill as many people as possible, kidnap children, and execute innocent men, women, and children just because they are Ukrainians is off the charts evil. War crimes abound. In that war, there is a clear side of innocence and evil.

Yesterday, it happened again, this time in Israel. The slaughter of children, women, and other civilians, the kidnapping of civilians to be taken back to Gaza as bargaining chips, the killing of 260 people at a music festival, and the cheering for those who perpetuated these ungodly acts in Gaza, Tehran, Lebanon, and other assorted places is a sad commentary on the state of our world. We are reticent to label things as evil today. But this is, and it must be said. Oh, and don't forget 3,000 plus missiles fired into civilian towns. 

Here is what I know from Scripture. God's heart is deeply saddened when evil abounds. And that includes the taking of innocent life. It happened in Syria in the recent conflict, in Bosnia Herzegovina, Rwanda, and in places like the eastern part of Congo. 

Here is the thing. God created us in His Image. Think about that. The destruction of those made in His image in an indiscriminate way is from the pit of Hell. In fact, John 10:10 says that the Evil One comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan hates God with an intractable hatred, but he cannot get at God. He thought he had at the crucifixion but didn't count on the resurrection! The resurrection sealed his fate for eternity.

Because he cannot harm God, Satan does the next best thing. He kills God in effigy by inciting people to kill other human beings in cold blood. And just as Abel's blood cried out to God when Cain killed him, today, the blood of those killed in Israel does the same. Behind such despicable actions is the Evil One. Please join me in praying for the security of Israel, whom Hamas has vowed to destroy. This is no different than the holocaust in terms of its evil - just different in scope.

Please hear me. I am not condemning all Palestinians, just as I don't condemn all Russians. I am blaming the perpetrators of this despicable violence. There are many peace-loving Palestinians, and Russians. I have met many. We cannot condemn a whole people for the actions of a few. But we must condemn those who target the innocent, the vulnerable, and civilians. Hamas has vowed to wipe Israel off the map and teach that every Arab must kill the Israelites they come across. That is what they tried to do this week. 

As to the Palestinian refugees, there needs to be a solution. And by the way, the Arab states who will now condemn Israel are mostly unwilling to do much for the Palestinians except to allow them to live in camps. And when the governments of Gaza and the West Bank teach violence to solve their issues, this is the logical outcome. 

Evil has a face...again! Join me in prayer for those who have been affected, for the security of Israel, for a peaceful solution to the Palestinian crisis, and for accountability for those who perpetuated this evil. The one thing we can all do is to pray. And God's heart is deeply grieved. He will have the last word. Now or on that final day.

(Photo from the New York Times)

A Lesson from Sandy Hook

Americans often think that evil is the providence of other places and other countries. The Sandy Hook massacre has reminded us that evil is among us as well as it exists among all people. And it impacts all of us. In fact, a youngster from a family that attended and EFCA church (my employer) was killed. Evil lives among all of us - a result of the fall. Our nation does not have an exemption from the impact of evil.

Our nation has deep needs. Tragedies like this that remind us of evil. Gridlock in Washington that prevents us from coming to common solutions. Economic issues that are impacting many. If there was ever a time to pray more and be more committed to reaching our communities it is now. 

It is hard to get ones hands around the kind of evil we witnessed yesterday. I never will. But such events make it possible to get our hands around the need our society has for the Gospel of Jesus which transforms lives, communities and institutions. Indeed, I am sure that in the aftermath of this event, the love of Jesus will be deeply evident through His people as they minister to the families impacted. We can join them by praying that God would be a comfort and that open hearts would turn to Him in a time of need.

There will be much debate about how to prevent such events in the future. More programs, gun control, security and perhaps other solutions. The real solution is the Gospel of Jesus. 

In times like this I am reminded of Paul's words to the Corinthians. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows (2 Corinthians 1; 3-5)."