As Christians
and other non-Muslim Iraqis flee their homes in the face of ISIS terror, I am
deeply saddened by the unapologetic barbaric blood-lust that is engulfing our world.
While I
do grieve the deaths of my Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, Sudan,
Syria, Egypt and other places, I do not mourn them without hope. I am quite
confident that those who remain loyal to Jesus to the point of exile,
crucifixion and/or beheading will certainly be received into heaven with open
arms.
My real
sorrow is of another sort. You may not realize it yet, but those lofty ideas of
“peace” and “freedom” (which we too often take for granted) are on life
support. For too many people, I think, peace and freedom are not really
concepts at all. They are just words that they vaguely remember from a ninth
grade American History class. These words are so common to us that they are a
part of the wall paper of our lives. Sadly, there is a darkness creeping over
our world that is the antithesis of those enlightened concepts.
I know
that many people (many much smarter than me) are trying to parse out the cause
of the current creeping darkness. Why are ISIS and their ilk so brutal, so oppressive? Is it
economic in origin? Is it anger over some (real or perceived) injustice in
history? Is it just another manifestation of Islamic sectarian violence? Has
the world simply gone crazy?
Here is
what I think. I think that this is not a new war. It is simply a new front in a
very, very, very old war. This is a part of the same war that started millennia
ago in a garden called Eden. You see, whether you believe it or not, there is a
very real conflict that exists between evil and good (or to be more specific,
between evil and God).
Evil does
exist.
And Satan
exists as its champion. The Bible clearly and repeatedly reveals to us that
Satan (or the “devil” if you prefer) is a very real and very conscious entity,
active in this world. From his first appearance in Genesis his objective has
been to inflict death on the human race. He desperately wants us to defy God.
He also wants us to follow the ways of Cain by turning on one another in
fratricidal rage. His objective is to steal, kill, and destroy that which is
good. Too often he succeeds.
Now
before I carry this train of thought any further, I want to challenge your
sensibilities just a bit. The reason the atrocities of ISIS are so horrifying
to many people is because the images of beheading and torture are inescapable.
Genocide is evil in and of itself, but usually the perpetrators make some
effort to hide and deny their crimes. ISIS, on the other hand, places the heads
of their victims on sticks in the front yard in a macabre spectacle.
The evil
of this genocide has become impossible to ignore. How inconvenient.
In the
“civilized” world, I think, we fancy ourselves as children of light. We are
lovers of “life” in all its forms. We will spend gazillions of dollars to save
the whales (or the dolphins, or polar bears, or trees, or owls, or to rescue
pets from the crazy-cat-lady-down-the-street.)
Yet despite all of our purported “goodness” a legal genocide takes place
daily within our own borders as thousands of babies are prematurely torn from
their mother’s womb and discarded as so much trash.
But, hey,
at least we don’t have to see the pictures.
My point
is this: the deadly influence of evil is present throughout our world. Evil is
starving people in North Korea. Evil is oppressing people in China. It is
running drugs in Central America. Regions of Africa that I do not pretend to
understand still reel in genocidal conflict. Flash points of hatred, theft and
murder are erupting around the world. Evil, it seems, is gaining traction all
around us. Even in “civilized” Europe and other parts of the Western world
young men are abandoning their native lands and joining forces with unabashed
Evil.
Evil is
and always has been a formidable enemy. In fact Evil is so strong, so
overwhelmingly insidious that you or I cannot overcome it with schemes of human
design. The problem is that our “morals” aren't good enough to do the job.
Waving old glory and singing patriotic songs isn't going to cut it. We cannot
(nor could we ever) defeat Evil by being smart, prosperous, patriotic or moral.
It seems
to me that if we are going to be the children of light, we’d best get to being
just that. The only force in this world with the strength to overcome Evil is
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is the deal; Jesus is, and always has been, on
a collision course with Evil. Remember, it was Jesus who said, “I come not to
send peace, but a sword.” Either those who possess the gospel will take it to
the Evil, or the Evil will come to those who have the gospel.
The
gospel does not exist to make us wealthy. It does not exist to form a culture
or make the world “civilized” and “moral”. The gospel does not even exist to
give us an excuse to build palatial church buildings, or quibble about the
minutia of ecclesiastical life. The gospel exists to free oppressed men, women
and children from the ravages of sin and reconcile them to a Holy God
who loves them.
Make no
mistake, sin is deadly. Sure, sometimes sin dresses itself in respectable
clothes and parades around with sophisticated education and impeccable manners.
It is deceptive that way, but in the end sin will be revealed for what it really
is, rebellion against God.
You see, Evil
has always had a three-fold mission; it steals, it kills, and it destroys. The
problem with the fight we face is that the war against Evil cannot be won with
physical means. If you bomb it out of existence in one place, it will pop up in
another. Evil is spiritual in origin,
not physical. Ultimately, if we are going to overcome this Evil it will be
because the Church returns to its mandate, sacrifices itself in prayer and surrenders
its treasure to takes the gospel to the world.
May God
help us to have the courage, to do his will.
