suffering for good
Within the span of just 20 minutes last December, four Pakistani women were shot and killed in the city of Karachi. A fifth woman was shot in the city of Peshawar. To make the situation even more horrific, these women were medical staff, implementing a polio vaccine program organized by the UN. A spokesman for the Karachi police explained to the BBC how “these were pre-planned and coordinated attacks in various localities.”
peace work
As we bumped slowly down the rain-ravaged, two-track “road,” we inched past weathered dwellings where skittish chickens dodged barefoot children. Simple fences framed gardens that sprouted low-yield corn and tomatoes. Wiry farmers prodded lumbering carabao as they tilled larger fields.
don’t be evil
How does a cute, little baby grow up to become the face of evil? How does an Austrian boy become Adolf Hitler or a son of privilege turn into Osama bin Laden? And what makes one group of people slaughter members of a neighboring group? How could they possibly think that was a good idea?
friends & enemies
A made-for-TV miniseries chronicled the experiences of the US 1st Marine Division in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The episode of the Marines storming the beaches of Iwo Jima was emotionally difficult to watch. Of the young Marines who survived the barrage of bullets and mortar fire, many froze on the beach in utter terror, not knowing what to do next.
a world at peace
My friends and I once interviewed believers of the four major religions practiced in Singapore to find out their teaching on Utopia. This topic intrigued us, for we knew that all people live in an imperfect world.
evil
The problem of evil is the No. 1 reason people give for not believing in God. They assume that a good God would not allow for evil to exist, and an omnipotent God would be able to keep it out, so the existence of evil means God is either not all-good or not all-powerful. And so they conclude that there is no God.
starting with prayer
On November 23, 1835, George Müller wrote, “Today I have had it very much impressed on my heart, no longer merely to think about the establishment of an orphan house, but actually to set about it, and I have been very much in prayer respecting it, in order to ascertain the Lord’s mind.”
August 26, 2013
What words of comfort would you share with someone going through a difficult time?
leftovers
According to a study released in August 2012, Americans throw away 40 percent of their food every year, valued at roughly $165 billion annually. The average American throws away 240 pounds (110 kg) of edibles per person every year. Just a 15-percent reduction in this amount would feed 25 million people annually.
unwanted and unloved
A pastor and his congregation, serving in an area known for addicts, alcoholics, and prostitutes, have prayed an interesting prayer for many years: Lord, send us the people nobody else wants. That prayer has been answered, for more than 800 church attendees are now involved in recovery programs designed to help them break free from destructive lifestyles. Recently, the pastor added this phrase to the end of his prayer: . . . and nobody else sees. He says, “[These people] are often overlooked. . . . But after all, as Jesus put it, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do’ ” (Matthew 9:12).
walls
Walls are designed to keep people safe. But walls also divide, keeping people apart. The 96-mile (155 km) Berlin Wall kept the East Germans in. The Great Wall of China, which was believed to be 5,500 miles long (8,850 km) and is now estimated to be 13,170 miles long (21,196 km), kept enemies out.
backslap back?
When I lived in China, I had an American friend who was radically committed to bringing the gospel to that nation. He mastered the Chinese language until even the Chinese thought he spoke exactly like them, with no foreign accent; and he aggressively shared Jesus at every opportunity. Once he was attacked by thugs, and rather than use his larger size to fight back he obeyed Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek. His pummeling increased my admiration for him, though I also think he missed Jesus’ point.
bwana asifiwe!
Bwana asifiwe!” is Swahili for Praise the Lord! As I traveled from the dry place of Tala to the slums of Kawangare to the densely populated and dangerous ghetto of Korogocho in Kenya, this is the way every believer greeted me.
