It is difficult for me to turn on the TV.
I see the faces of refugees, the videos of less than capable boats sailing across a wild sea packed like sardines, images of crying children. As a human, it hurts me. As a mother, it's devastating to me. I think of my own son who is so privileged, so blessed to have such freedom. Who am I to gripe when he has a tempter tantrum because I've taken away a train?
I see the faces of terrorists. Do we pray for peace or do we pray for their redemption?
Church last Sunday broke me. A missionary from Afghanistan spoke of her work with disabled people, a growing number of people who are rejected and considered less than human. They are hidden and ashamed of, their lives are considered worthless. And then she said, "Most suicide bombers are disabled because no one cares if they're dead." Unsettling.
Such a broken world we live in.
I am easily frustrated at the "He calls us to love, but not be stupid" viewpoint. Stupid? Or comfortable. Isn't that what you really mean?
"And you might just get what you pray for. When God puts a face and a people on your newsfeed and you are comfortable praying for them from half a world away, He might bring them closer. He might make you actually stand on it, risk for it." (via HERE)
I pray I'm open.