The World's gone mad....
Exodus 20:13 "You shall not murder.
Where were you on September 11th 2001?
I was on a train travelling back from Sheffield with a colleague when Jenny sent me a text message. "The World's gone mad.... get to a TV quick." Of course I couldn't, but we did have a mini-radio and we managed to listen to Radio 5 all afternoon as we wound our way up the East Coast mainline. We didn't see the pictures till we got to Glasgow, and sitting on a train with only one little radio, and rumour spreading throughout the carriage was a numbing experience. And my friend was American....
Since then our world has changed - there was conflict before the twin towers, and there is conflict now. It's not confined to the 'war on terror', it's everywhere, Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Lebanon, Gaza, West Africa, Madrid, London....
I wonder how it has changed me. Have I hardened my heart, or has it been softened? Do I look at the world from a western viewpoint (we need to burn all the poppy fields because they make drugs) or can I take a global stance (we need to find poppy farmers an alternative source of income)? Am I a more cautious person now, or more reckless? Do I want to protect what I have, or ask who others want to destroy it? Do I turn to God more, or do I rail against him for abandoning us? Am I to be an agent for change, or peace, or justice?
Jesus told us that we would hear of wars and rumours of wars. He was warning us that we would have no peace, that there would be forever conflict, that somehow we are trapped on a downward spiral until he came back. But he also gave us hope. The Bible tells us that, despite all the uncertainty in the world and the fact that we do not know which way we are going, ultimately God stands behind history, and He will bring it to a close when He is ready.
Until He comes - a phrase which was written on the Communion Table of the Church I grew up in. Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble. Until He comes....
Where were you on September 11th 2001?
I was on a train travelling back from Sheffield with a colleague when Jenny sent me a text message. "The World's gone mad.... get to a TV quick." Of course I couldn't, but we did have a mini-radio and we managed to listen to Radio 5 all afternoon as we wound our way up the East Coast mainline. We didn't see the pictures till we got to Glasgow, and sitting on a train with only one little radio, and rumour spreading throughout the carriage was a numbing experience. And my friend was American....
Since then our world has changed - there was conflict before the twin towers, and there is conflict now. It's not confined to the 'war on terror', it's everywhere, Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Lebanon, Gaza, West Africa, Madrid, London....
I wonder how it has changed me. Have I hardened my heart, or has it been softened? Do I look at the world from a western viewpoint (we need to burn all the poppy fields because they make drugs) or can I take a global stance (we need to find poppy farmers an alternative source of income)? Am I a more cautious person now, or more reckless? Do I want to protect what I have, or ask who others want to destroy it? Do I turn to God more, or do I rail against him for abandoning us? Am I to be an agent for change, or peace, or justice?
Jesus told us that we would hear of wars and rumours of wars. He was warning us that we would have no peace, that there would be forever conflict, that somehow we are trapped on a downward spiral until he came back. But he also gave us hope. The Bible tells us that, despite all the uncertainty in the world and the fact that we do not know which way we are going, ultimately God stands behind history, and He will bring it to a close when He is ready.
Until He comes - a phrase which was written on the Communion Table of the Church I grew up in. Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble. Until He comes....
posted by Gordon at
12:01 am
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