I spent a bit of time last night praying for those aboard MH17 and their families and friends. It came to mind that some people might criticize that act because they might deem some of the sufferers as non Christians. I pondered what "come back" I might have to such an outcry. Quite honestly what came to mind is not particularly pleasant.
First of all they are dead. There it is... blunt and cruel and not pleasant. Whether I'm praying for them ceases to matter for them but it matters to me and it matters to the world. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, 298 people lost their lives, not by some "accident", not because they were on one side or the other of a war, not because they chose to put themselves in a dangerous situation but simply because they were there. In a plane, with no thoughts of death, no concerns as they soared toward their destination. That number includes 3 infants and possibly as many as 100 children.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 He didn't say, "let only Christian children come to me." now did he?
These were people that laughed and loved and cared. They had friends and families and lives. They were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, grandparents and grandchildren. They existed. I don't know how they knew God or their God's name or even if they believed in an afterlife. None of that matters to me. What matters is that in our world today we have hate and war and lies. We have the ability to destroy 298 (and let's face it a lot more than that) people in a matter of minutes. Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.
It looks like it's shaping up to be one big political mess. I have no idea who exactly shot down the plane but it's starting to look as if it was the insurgents. Yes, there's finger pointing, and yes there are those that say its a conspiracy. My thoughts are that they accidently shot down a civilian plane which they believed to be a Ukraine military one. Now all hell is about to break loose. Whether it was an accident or intentional, regardless of who is at fault, the point is, as long as we have hate, and war, and those that think we settle our differences with violence then things like this will continue to happen. After all this isn't the first time a civilian plane has been shot down by accident. That doesn't make it any less horrific.
The whole world is watching. If Americans were aboard the plane has not been confirmed although some are suggesting 23 Americans lost their lives. People are already arguing about WHY people are concerned about Americans onboard as if they are somehow "special." No they are not special. It's simply that people want to know, just like the Australians wanted to know, just like any other country wanted to know. Just this simple unknown fact is already pitting people against each other. That's how evil works. I do wonder why our government is so slow in confirming if in deed Americans were onboard. It makes me think they want their "response", their "game plan" in place before they acknowledge loss of life. But this isn't a game, people. This is real. It cuts to the core of those people who have lost loved ones.
I pray for those that lost loved ones, I pray for the leaders of all the countries involved, I pray for the world, I pray for people to move beyond their self inflicted, limited viewpoints toward a more global view of the world and the people in it. I pray that a senseless act doesn't push us to the brink of a world war.
Hugs to each of you. Hold onto the light in the darkness and guard it with passion.
"Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness." 1 John 2:9
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