The membership of a new Christian church in Syria is comprised mostly of former Muslims.
Sometimes people hurt one another. When people’s hearts harden so much that they stop responding to the love of God, people are capable of unspeakable horrors and atrocities.
In spite of these horrors, God loves us. Christ died and rose again for our sins, not because humanity deserves God’s mercy, but because we could not have found our way to an eternal life with God without Christ’s sacrifice. Forgiveness is the ultimate expression of God’s love.
In times of great darkness, it’s important not to lose sight of God’s love and to remember that the light of God cannot be extinguished. Whether or not we can see God’s reflection in the midst of great suffering, we are not alone. God is with us always, even when we can’t see Him through the darkness that seeks to devour us and suffocate all hope.
When bad or unjust things happen that we do not understand, it’s important not to lose faith – to hope. Jesus teaches us that “…with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26) God’s love is so strong that even in the face of indescribable horrors, God can create something good from sin and its consequences. For example, I believe that the story published by icommittopray.com on May 30, 2019 is evidence of God’s love working to give meaning and hope to the the horrors mankind creates.
“A church in Kobani, Syria, is seeing more Muslims turn to Christ after becoming disillusioned with Islam and its violent adherents. ‘If ISIS represents Islam, I don’t want to be a Muslim anymore,’ Farhad Jasim told NBC News. Farhad attends the Church of the Brethren, a church established in September 2018 and composed mostly of former Muslims. Farhad became skeptical about Islam after witnessing the self-proclaimed Islamic State’s brutality during the Syrian civil war. ‘It didn’t take me long to discover that Christianity was the religion I was searching for,’ he said.”
Nothing can justify cruelty and hate unleashed against others. Little can be done to soothe the brokenhearted who have experienced or witnessed it firsthand, except to pray for them and try to comfort and help them in the ways that we can.
Perhaps if we turn our thoughts away from the darkness and towards the light of God, we may find comfort in the knowledge that all suffering and injustice of this world is temporary. The time of evil men and women will pass, they will be judged justly by God, and those who are not saved by God’s grace will be sent to eternal punishment; while the righteous will find everlasting life with God. (e.g., Matthew 26:46)
Knowledge that this world is only temporary can strengthen us and “… is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4: 16-18)
Photo Copyright 2019 by The Voice of the Martyrs
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