We are all saddened by the recent disaster in Sri Lanka that shook the entire
world including the Christian world. This particular article below by Ajith
Fernando teaching director of Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka, and author
of Discipling in a Multicultural World (Crossway 2019) made so much
of sense when he penned down this article which appeared in ‘Christian Today’. This
can be applied anytime when we face any disaster. I have condensed a bit due to
its length, but you may check the link below to read the complete article.
Whenever tragedy hits a nation,
Christians need to ask how to think Biblically in response to the situation. As
Christianity is a body religion, it is best that groups of Christians meet and
discuss a common response to the challenges. We cannot delay our response.
There are both immediate responses and more long-term responses to heal the
wounds of our people.
I
have thought of at least six necessary responses from Christians to what has
happened:
1)
Lament Loss
Christians
must join the nation in lamenting and mourning over
our losses. Protestants have been somewhat lacking in espousing a theology of
groaning (Rom. 8:23) that opens the door to lament (though that seems to be
changing). The Old Testament has many instances of elaborate mourning customs,
and that is found in the New Testament too. The church responded to Stephen’s
death with a “great lamentation over him” (Acts 8:2; also see 9:39). Each
country has its cultural ways of lament, and we must look for practices to
adopt which harmonize with Christianity. In addition to Easter time, April is
New Year in Sri Lanka and most Christians have cancelled their usual
festivities because of what has happened.
2) Condemn Evil
The
Bible is loaded with condemnation over the wrong that
takes place in a nation, and the ministries of the prophets are a good example
of this. Where possible and appropriate, we need to strongly condemn—with no
reserve—the barbaric acts that have happened. Like the prophets, we may also
need to denounce the failure of our national leaders to take appropriate steps
to protect the people in response to intelligence reports.
3) Alleviate Suffering
Part
of the Christian answer to the problem of evil is action to alleviate suffering, as people made in
the image of a God who works. The Bible is loaded with advice to care for those
who are wounded and vulnerable. We must look for opportunities to help. Some of
these are more formal projects done in an organized manner by groups—Christian
or general community efforts. Others are personal responses. As representatives
of the God of all comfort, we can seek to comfort those who are hurting (2 Cor.
1:3-4)
4)
Leave Vengeance to the Lord
In
our hearts we must apply the principle of God’s “holy-love” as
we think through the situation. The Bible is clear that our holy God punishes
wrong. The reason we are to “never avenge [ourselves]” is because we “leave it
to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says
the Lord’” (Rom. 12:19). When wrong is done, something in us says, “That
deserves to be punished.” That is a biblical sentiment. God has given
government officials the authority to be agents of his wrath by punishing
wrongdoers (Rom. 13:3–4). We must let justice take its course. But even if it
doesn’t take place on earth, we know that it will at the final judgment. We can
choose to stop the downward spiral of revenge where violence begets violence
and huge destruction results.
5)
Don’t Bear False Witness
The
Bible is severe in its condemnation of false accusation and harming
the innocent. Racial, ethnic, and religious prejudice often
comes from lumping large numbers of people alongside a few radical members of
the group they belong to. I do not want to be naïve about the plans of some
Muslim groups to control the world and use violence to achieve that end. But in
Sri Lanka, for centuries we have lived harmoniously with Muslims. I often feel
that my Muslim neighbors are better neighbors to me than I am to them. If we
lump all Muslims under the category of terrorist sympathizers, we do many of
them a huge injustice which is abhorrent to God. Such attitudes could isolate
them to the point of pushing them to find refuge among radicals. It is no
secret that violence against Muslims encourages radicalism. We must
conscientiously do all we can to prevent that from happening.
6)
Pray
While
it may seem foolish to spend time praying during a crisis when there
is so much to do, this is the most powerful thing God’s people can do in a
national crisis (1 Kings 19). We need to mobilize individual and corporate
prayer among Christians. Leaders must take the lead in calling for prayer.
Christians in Sri Lanka often lose hope when they are faced with wave after
wave of bad news. But we don’t pray with a defeatist attitude. We know that God
is building his kingdom culminating in the return of Christ, and that our
actions are building blocks in this process. Holy-love will win in
the end! Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20).
This
article originally appeared here
Blessings.
No comments:
Post a Comment