Sometimes I wonder, “What would I have done if I were serving a local church as a pastor during the time of the holocaust?”
ISIS has created a new holocaust. It is my turn to pastor in the midst of extreme wickedness. No longer is it “What would I have done, but what am I doing?”
First, I am confronting my sense of helplessness. “This isn’t a problem I can solve. It is for others to deal with.”
Second, I am challenging my wishful thinking. “Surely, ISIS will stop the absurd attraction to horrific violence.”
Third, I am resisting a tendency to profile. “He looks like he could be a Muslim extremist.”
Fourth, I am seeking to trust God at a deeper level. “God, you and your world don’t make sense to me right now.”
Fifth, I refuse to be paralyzed by what I can’t do, so I am doing what I can do.
I am the furthest thing from an End Times, Last Days, or eschatological scholar. I never can figure out what the imagery really means. Making things worse, I am never sure the scholars have it right because they never seem to agree with each other. This leaves me with the personal responsibility to do what I can.
I can look to the Bible for time tested and Holy Spirit inspired insight.
I can seek God’s intervention through prayer.
I can lift up my voice against the great darkness and proclaim the Light.
I can become informed.
I can grow in love.
Maybe you noticed in this blog post the large number of times I have used the personal pronoun, I. This is intentional. From my perspective, God will hold me accountable not for what nations could do but for what I can do. I have personal responsibility to fight my part of the fight.