Readings for today: John 3-5
I was scheduled to lead a trip to Israel beginning this Friday. Obviously, the tragic and horrific events of the past weekend scuttled those plans. I woke up early Saturday morning to my phone buzzing with the update that Hamas had fired thousand of rockets into Israel. Invaded several communities in and around the Gaza border. Raped, kidnapped, and murdered hundreds. I immediately reached out to our contacts in Israel to get a sense of the conditions on the ground. They were not good. This is perhaps the worst attack since the 1973 Yom Kippur War and it has been devastating to the country. As the weekend progressed, the news broke that Hezbollah has opened a second front on the north out of Lebanon. Iran was very likely involved in the operation planning. And anti-Israeli demonstrations are ongoing across the Arab world. So much hatred. So much violence. It’s overwhelming and it begs the question…why? What’s wrong with our world? Why do these cycles of violence seemingly never end?
Jesus has an answer. It’s not one we necessarily like to hear. Listen again to His words from John 3, “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.” (John 3:19-21 MSG) Ultimately, we are the reason for this crisis. Humanity’s inhumanity to other humans knows no bounds. Given the right set of conditions, we are all capable of great evil because the dividing line between good and evil runs though every human heart. Our natural tendency is to run to the darkness. We do this because we don’t want to submit to God. We think we know better so we throw off all restraint. And the result is pain. Suffering. Heartache. Tragedy. Evil.
So what’s the answer? Once again, Jesus is clear. The answer is a transformed humanity. A humanity that’s been born again to a new way of life. This is the answer He gave Nicodemus when he came to see him. “Jesus said, “Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.” (John 3:5-6 MSG) The fundamental truth is that God has given dominion to human beings. We were created to serve as stewards and caregivers over all God has made. God designed us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with His glory. And though we rejected Him, Jesus came to call us back to our original purpose. He came to tear down the dividing walls of hostility that exist between us and the world around us. Jesus promises a new heart and a new spirit which results in a new humanity. Jesus is ultimately the only hope for a true and lasting peace in the Middle East because He’s the only one powerful enough to heal the generational divisions between Israelis and Palestinians. He’s done it in places like Rwanda between Hutu’s and Tutsi’s or in South Africa under Nelson Mandela or India under Gandhi. The Christian way has not been tried and found wanting, it’s been found difficult and left untried. (GK Chesterton)
Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 8:1-4, 9:1-17. 12:1-21, Mark 1:40-45, 2:1-3:21, Luke 5:12-6:19