The history is just about as old as the land itself. Throughout the centuries there has been conflict. There has been war. There has been famine. The Old Testament is full of the graphic, brutal history of the land promised to Abraham.
Fast forward about 4,000 years and there is still conflict that often erupts into war. Modern war brings so much more brutality. Bombs destroy whole buildings. Families are wiped out. And the innocent are slain. Fear, death and pain are not reserved for a day of tragedy. They are life in the Middle East.
In the western world, it is easy to turn off our TV or close the laptop and be instantly removed from the present day atrocities. Here’s why we shouldn’t:
God cares
The Apostle Peter, a Jewish Christian, elder and evangelist in the first days of Christianity wrote,
When Peter wrote these words, they followed a warning of impending judgement. The desire of our Father’s heart is to have these children of promise come home. These are God’s children. On both sides.
Brothers and Sisters are Suffering
There are some 200,000 Christians living in this region. They are people of peace. They are people of Christ who are caught in the middle of bloodthirsty savagery. They are suffering.
The call of a disciple of Jesus isn’t to just say a casual prayer for these people. It is to spiritually and mentally put on the suffering with them. The translation of the Aramaic text in Hebrews 13:3 says, Call those to mind who are afflicted, as if you are the people who wear their bodies.
As if you are the people who wear their bodies. That is heavy.
Blessed are the Peacemakers
I will never broker a peace deal or sit at international tables of diplomacy. But I will call on heaven to come. I will beseech the King of Kings to come. I will pray for peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. – Jesus
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