I was up the other night reading a blog post by Ann Von Kamp and I felt compelled to share this article with you regarding the effects of ISIS as well as write my own thoughts on why we need to be more informed and involved. Please take the time to read her post, just copy and paste the following link.
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2015/05/into-iraq-2-what-the-news-isnt-telling-you-why-we-cant-afford-to-pretend-its-not-happening-sozans-impossible-choice-and-our-very-possible-one/
When we read or hear stories like these and we're forced to feel something- and we often don't like the feelings it stirs in us. We can feel helpless to do anything, we can try to move on quickly and not let the reality sink because we feel that our hearts are already too full- full of our own concerns, full of our concerns for others, full of our own fears, full of our sense of loss, full of enough....and, if we take on one more cause we will either neglect our own or we let it cast a shadow on our present joys.
You can ask anyone that knows me, I'm not one to seek sad stories, they usually tend to affect me a lot. In part it's my personality and the other part may be that it strikes a familiar chord in my heart that will forever remain a soft spot. But being aware of what's happening in the world I think is part of carrying our cross- it's our Christian duty. Sadly, I think Christianity in part has lost its relevance in the worlds eyes because we tend to become ingrown in our four walled churches and more so in our mindsets. We have let the cares of the world becomes their cares failing to see our vital role in it all.
When we do start connecting with these stories and the people in them, it doesn't mean that we must live in a constant state of grief or that we must miss out on the joys and blessings God has given us. It does means we can savour them with no longer a sense of entitlement but with a growing sense of gratitude and appreciation that compells us to be more compassionate and generous. Generous in our prayers, generous in our giving, generous in our thinking.
So what if we take this one step further than reading an article or hearing a story and maybe being compelled to give or to cry, how about us taking ownership of our part? What if we let these stories shape our story- what our worldview becomes,what legacy we are building towards, what we invest our prayers and time into. This doesn't mean we disconnect emotionally from our present reality and try to constantly be living in someone else's shoes forgetting to wear our own, but it's about letting it enlarge our world altogether to not just be what we know it to be while forgetting our role in the bigger picture.
We were blessed to be a source of blessing for others, we were rescued to rescue others. Kingdom thinking should lead us beyond ourselves and our comfort zones.
That being said, it doesn't mean we have to get the scoop on everything happening world wide, that would be a daunting thing to keep up with! But we can pray God lead us to the stories we are meant to be a part of. Lets get involved by becoming actively committed to pray for that cause, lets give financially towards it, lets get our kids involved in the process of praying as well and start making them aware that we all have a part in this. There is lots of legitimate ministries and foundations out there that help those in need like the persecuted Christians, girls being rescued from the sex trade, children with special needs, those dealing with addictions, pregnancy centres and the list can go on.
Maybe at one point you have asked yourself if is it possible to still have joy when the world unveils it's pain to us. I still want to laugh at the silly things my boys do, I still want to enjoy the simple things in life that make it beautiful, I still want to I still want to goof off with my husband and enjoy the moment without feeling guilty or with a cloud of heaviness that inhibits me. But, I still believe we can have these things without being disconnected from the world or being indifferent to it.
I believe our joy as Christians needs to come not from our naivety or selective ignorance, but from our faith in Christ and trust in God's power to restore, to renew, to comfort, to bring healing, to provide, and to use us imperfect vessels as light in the darkest of darkness. There's miracles yet to be witnessed, there's beauty yet to come forth from the ashes,there's hope waiting to be birthed in anguished hearts- let's contribute to that, let's get more involved in becoming part of the outcome of the stories God links us with rather than just sad spectators. Let's be a voice, let's create awareness, let's remind each other in love of what true Christianity should look like to the broken yet beautiful world we live in.