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Woe to Me!,
by Phil Ware
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined!
For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips,
and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
... Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
"Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah
6:5, 8)
Tragedy that has ripped
through the hearts of so many across the world has hit very close to home
for many of us in the USA. During this time of horror, shock, injury, and
death, how are we to react? While many thoughts come to mind, a few
seem clear to us.
We must pray. We must pray for the President and for other world
leaders as they deal with these series of attacks and the horrible toll on
lives of so many people. We must pray for the families of those
directly impacted so tragically by the hijacked planes and their targets.
We
must pray for those who are involved in the rescue efforts and who try to
deal with the horrific carnage and destruction to human beings.
Pray! Pray in your office. Pray in your home. Pray in
your church.
We must take a firm stand against prejudice and improper "hurry to
judgment" against people simply because of their national descent or
race. It is so easy to for us to lump together people of race,
geographical, or national origin because of the actions of a vicious few
who do not represent them. The Kingdom of God is made up of all
peoples and races, and we must be a haven of protection and grace for
those who might be treated unfairly because of prejudice and reactive
hate.
Let's also hear this as a vivid reminder of Isaiah's poignant and sobering
words. We live in a fallen world with a dark evil prince who
seeks to destroy people and ruin lives with hate and death. In the
midst of such a world, let's also live under the strong conviction that
the only hope for our world is redemption and unification in the grace of
God. After the horrors of World War II, many of those who had been
involved in these horrors and brutalized in concentration camps led the
Church of Jesus into unprecedented outreach through world missions to the
very people who had mistreated, tortured, and imprisoned them. Our call is
to redeem a fallen world. This is a sad and sobering reminder of
just how fallen it truly is.
Those of us who still have grave concerns for friends and loved ones who
were working at the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, or in the
air as passengers, flight attendants, and flight crews request your
prayers for their families and us. We are citizens in the world and
called by Jesus to redeem the world. Our ultimate citizenship is in
heaven, but our heart breaks, along with God's heart, for the destructive
hate that still permeates our world and is the tool of the evil one to
wound, maim, and kill people who are precious to God. As long as the
memory of this horrifying day lingers in our hearts, let's also commit to
make a difference in our world by sharing the grace of Jesus.
This is a horrible, tragic, and terrifying time. It is also a time
for God's people to show who we are with courage, empathy, compassion,
grace, and faith as we seek to serve and to be a blessing in such shocking
and painful times.
(c)HEARTLIGHT
http://www.heartlight.org Used by permission.
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