Tuesday, March 6 2012
The conference
began today. You know the drill: speaker
and then another speaker and then another speaker and then another speaker and
then, oh yeah, one more speaker! They
were all very good and I’ll share in just a second but here’s a little secret
about me – I’m terrible at sitting still for very long. I always have been which is one of the
reasons I stand on Sundays during church instead of sit. So while a day like today is challenging for
everyone, it ends up being a just a liiiitttle extra challenging for your
truly!! (insert feeling sorry for me
now) I’ve been wondering what my posts
will be about for the rest of the week during this conference but as I listened
to some of the speakers it dawned on me – some of what was shared today can be
heard in only a few places in the world because much of it comes from
Christians who have suffered a great deal for the cause of Christ. As a North American I’ve actually never heard
first-hand what some of the speakers shared today. Maybe you’re like me and would be blessed to
hear this also?!
So
a quote from a Palestinian pastor, Labeeb Madanat, who has been up to his
eyeballs in peace making between Israelis and Palestinians. He told his story of how he went from bitter
hatred for the Israelis to learning how to genuinely love them. This quote comes from this pastor – a man who
actually had a friend and work partner killed as a result of the conflict in
Palestine:
“We can become so consumed
with our own pain and suffering that we cannot feel the pain and suffering of
our neighbor. God calls us to deny
ourselves regardless of who has suffered more.
It requires us to deny our own pain.
Jesus wants our relationships to be defined by what he has done for us
while we were yet enemies of God. We
easily say: But what about our pain?
What about us? But we begin
correctly when we begin with forgiveness.
Are we victim or are we victor?
We can always play the victim or throw the pity party. But this is not what Christ wants us to do or
be. The world sees foolishness and
weakness but God sees it as strength and wisdom.”
I was going to edit this quote to shorten it but I keep
reading it over and can’t bring myself to do it. The words certainly speak to me as one who
enjoys being the life of the pity party.
But then I think: What do I have to complain about? Whatever hardships and difficulties I have
(if any) are nothing compared to Christians living in a land like this. These are Christians that are actively
practicing the gospel under some of the worst conditions on earth. They are living what has to be the most
difficult life possible. They are
working to love their enemy. I know I
can talk about loving my enemy but I’m not sure that I actually ever have done
it. What would that take for me to learn
to do that? What would have to change
within me? Would I actually be willing
to change to love my enemy? Truthfully,
I don’t know. Just being honest.
Remember
Michael? He’s the restaurant owner who
asked “How are you with God? And with
the Holy Spirit?” Our little pastor
posse found him after lunch and we had coffee together. It was fun to visit and laugh. We got to hear a little more about his family
and his life in Bethlehem. He exudes
thanksgiving to God in a way that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. I think that’s what drew us back to him. We just wanted to sit and enjoy his love and
laughter some more. We ended our time
together with prayer and promised to meet again before the end of the
conference.
Got to
get up early tomorrow morning (5:30 am) and go on a field trip to watch what
happens at the check point of Jerusalem every morning. Any Palestinian that wants to go into Jerusalem
has to first get a permit (and I’m told that’s an iffy proposition) and then
get in line to go through the security check point. It can take up to three hours to get through
the check point so people that have to be in Jerusalem early start lining up at
3:00 am. Jerusalem is just 6 km
away. I’m also told that sometimes
Israeli guards can be somewhat abusive during the process. At the very least, it has to be degrading to
go through that just to leave your town to get to the next town over. Obviously, the check points are there for a
reason and the history of bombings against Israelis has been well documented
for a long time. I’d probably want a
check point too if I lived in Jerusalem.
But it sounds like the check points have become far more than just a “check”. It is a way to control and marginalize an
entire people group that lives in the same land as you do. I’m sure more stories to follow on this one.
Got to
get to bed!
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