When I was a little girl, I spent a great deal of time at my grandmother's house. She was quite a funny character! She would place one of her favorite old record albums on the stereo and dance a dance called the Charleston and play songs on her ukelele while singing in her deep voice. I loved being with her! One never knew what the "entertainment" of the day might be.
One day she came home with a marvelous item! It was an old typewriter, the kind with an ink impregnated ribbon that was hit when the letter keys were struck and a metal arm would raise inside and strike the ribbon to the paper. What magic to behold! If you typed too fast the metal arms would tangle together and have to be separated before anything could be accomplished. I spent hours trying to learn to type. My grandmother showed me a phrase that would help me practice my speed. "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aide of their country." The harder you struck the keys,the darker the ink would type the letters.
I have thought of this phrase a great part of the day after the attack upon Paris,France. As I reflect upon the horrors of the times in which we now live, "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aide of their country" becomes a battle cry! A cry that appears darker,the harder it is struck....as each arm swings in the air to strike the words of war. My heart aches for the ones who are killed in these terrorist attacks, for those who must live in war zones, for all the good men and women who fight for freedom against those who have no regard for such Holy ideals as "life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness."
"Now is the time for all good men to rise to the aide of their country." A timely phrase for such times as these. And yet we live in fear in spite of the fact that "Have no fear" is one of the most often stated commandments in The Holy Bible. Yes, a commandment from the mouth of God to " Fear not." Commandments to "trust and obey" in black and white type struck with much more force than any man made phrase. "Fear not for I am with thee." And yet we fear men in black who wave black flags and kill instead of obeying the most powerful phrase ever written......."Love One Another." This is the phrase that must be written in our hearts or evil wins. Does our Father in Heaven love His Muslim children? Does He require that we also love our enemies? I have pondered these things for a long time now and the answer is always "yes."
We have watched in horror as radical Muslims have killed innocent people in horrific ways. Even little children beheaded and their heads impaled on spikes. Their terrified little faces permanently etched in my brain are also remembered by God who shall judge. We watched as Muslims who are Christian converts fled their villages into the wilderness desert as these terrorists appeared in the night. News coverage showed refugee fathers trying to throw their children and wives into a helicopter carrying news reporters before it took off. I cried aloud," Hurry! Just let one more in before you leave!" We watched our own President refuse to rescue these Christian believers and now we do not trust whom he may be choosing to give sanctuary instead. But here is what else I am pondering......if not us, then who? Who will rescue those who have truly nowhere safe to go? We fear what may happen to our own families if we do allow refugees to enter our own countries. But is this not the same attitude that our grandparents had when Hitler was slaughtering six million Jews? Is it not the same fear that caused our ancestors to imprison innocent Japanese Americans just because people who attacked Pearl Harbor looked like them? If Christians cease to care about the atrocities in this world then Satan laughs deliriously in victory! Our indifference may just drive others who may not yet be as radical to become so. It is not a sin to fight for your country or to protect your family but I am not so sure that the same can be said about the failure to render aide to God's persecuted children. Are we Christian if we follow not in the footsteps of Christ? Whether we agree or disagree with the "refugees" being allowed to enter this country, we need to open our eyes to the fact that radical terrorists are already here. So what shall we do? Fear not, for we can do all things with God who strengtheneth us! Fear not, for with God all things are possible!
I ponder things such as this along with other things such as : How does the gospel of Jesus Christ spread to all of the world if radical Muslim countries kill or drive out all Christians from the land? The answer may be that God brings them to lands where Christians are allowed freedom of worship and speech. What happens if we fail to use these blessings of freedom from God to build up his kingdom? Perhaps He will remove those freedoms if we do not appreciate them and use them for his purposes. "Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aide of their country. Can wars be won without loss of life? Yes, with God and with His powerful weapons that he has bestowed upon those who follow him.....His sword,The Word of God.....and with the most powerful weapon of all.....LOVE. Jesus said " If you love me,feed my sheep." how do we feed them if we don't want them around us. He never said that it would be easy. "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aide of their country." The way to do that is with love.
