I've just finished reading Blood Brothers - the life journey of Elias Chacour (born in the Palestinian village of Biram in the upper Galilee in 1939. In 1948 after a United Nations resolution, his country of Palestine became the sovereign state of Israel. Three years later, his own village of Biram would be changed forever. In 1951, Israeli soldiers marched into Biram and told the inhabitants that they would have to leave the village temporarily for security reasons. When the inhabitants of Biram returned, they found their houses, their entire village, bulldozed by the Israelis. They have never been allowed to return.) and was struck by similar situations of violence and oppression leading to a different path - consider the last post about Kardazac (Bosnian war criminal) finally caught for his atrocities of violence and horror... all in the name of race and 'liberation'... Elias was also caught in the grip of oppression and violence but through Jesus and His presence and inner peace in his life he saw a different way and pursued it...
In each of our hearts lies the possibility for both. Neither of these men are special in their own right... they are human. C.S. Lewis in the Weight of Glory explains it that we are all sons of god... we have the capacity for goodness and the potential for evil... the question becomes, what choices will you make and where will they lead you?
revenge, unforgiveness, jealousy and hatred lead to war, atrocities and murder - even if only in your own heart and home.
forgiveness, peace, love and hope lead to life - inner and outer works of God's Kingdom coming near.
I want to be a PEACEMAKER...
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