Watching this video tonight, it is hard not to draw connections. A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
In Gaza, women and children are used as human shields to legitimze Hamas' violent, genocidal cause, for their political and financial gain. This is so evil, yet the world protests the scenes from Gaza because no proper person wants any innocent lives to be destroyed. However, much of the world blames those seeking justice, who are fighting an existential war. It takes a son of a Hamas leader, perhaps, to call out Hamas on their tactics. God bless our dear brother Mosab Hassan Yousef (and I highly recommend this book)!
Innocent people should be protected, not dismissed as collateral damage in the aftermath of others' unrighteous actions. Innocent people should not be used as a cover for evil to hide. In the battle against unrighteousness, innocent lives should not be destroyed. No human life or relationship should be weaponized.
My situation pales, of course, when compared to such horrific wars being waged as I sit and write on my Mac, having returned to my relatively safe home. But my now 20-something-year-old "children", once believing we were so safe and blessed in our church community, have literally not known how to survive many of the days since our nuclear family imploded around 6 years ago. We sought help in so many directions... every direction we could find. Both my son and daughter have been hospitalized... with their lives at stake. Now we just await a long and expensive legal process.
Human lives are not political tools for leaders to accomplish an agenda. Human lives are precious image-bearers of their Creator. Evil is wreaking havoc. Yes - we MUST identify evil, abhor it, and condemn it - not calling people who point out EVIL works as people "on the wrong tree" and saying that people who identify evil are dead and that is worse than sin. Evil IS sin and death comes in THROUGH sin.
Such teachings in "The Lord's Recovery" that equate calling something sinful or evil as being on the wrong tree, the tree of DEATH, are so misleading. Light has no fellowship with darkness. Light and truth and love and life and righteousness ALL go together. Because they are all Christ, who is our life, and we are meant to be His expression - not as a facade but in reality.
So whether in the Ukraine or in Israel, in the church of God and in our families and homes, we must stand for righteousness and against all evil forces. No justice, no peace. May righteousness and truth and justice and peace and light and life and love - all inseparable - prevail all over the earth, starting with each person who chooses life.
Jesus is Lord. Lord, come quickly. How about today, Lord?
After watching that CNN interview of Mosab Hassan Yousef, it was not hard to see parallels between the ruthless leaders in Gaza and the ruthless leaders of the "Lord's Recovery"movement...