First the Rwandan Genocide, then the Ugandan child army led by Joseph Kony, and now this. On Friday May 25th, the world experienced another unfortunate heartbreak in Syria. Some of you may be familiar with the situation with the government and the people of Syria in which more than 9,000 people have been killed since the uprising in Syria began in 2011, according to U.N. estimates.
WHAT HAPPENED IN SYRIA?
Over 100 people were killed in the town of Houla, Syria by a malicious group of armed individuals that scoured the town. These men went through the town of Houla with knives and guns, while others fired tank rounds into the city. The result of this weekend’s massacre was rows of 49 bloody children and 29 dead adults, some with their skulls torn open. People are unsure as to who was responsible for this crime. Al-Assad’s regime insisted that it was not behind the massacre and blames armed terrorist groups, while the people blame the government for this crime.
Protesters in Syria today angrily denounced the massacre but sadly, their cries can’t take away the blood that was shed. In a town and a world that is constantly bombarded with murders and horrific massacres from the Holocaust to Syria, is there any hope amidst a world that seems hopeless?
HOPE IN HOPELESSNESS?
It seems as if every day that we turn on our televisions there is a story of a dead child, rape victim, school shooting, or any other type of misfortune you can think of. The world seems to be spiraling down into a generation where when over 100 people are killed in Syria, we hear the news of it and it is the norm. We have become so accustomed to events like these that some of our hearts have become dull. It takes us a few days, or maybe even hours, and all of those lives lost are out of our minds and we move on to the next tragedy of life.
The reality is that we live in a broken world. A world that is not what God fully intended it to be, nor how he made it to be. When man first rebelled against God and his commands, sin entered the world and we see the effect of it today in the very nature of man as creation plunged into a fallen state.
The good news is that the world will not remain this way. The same God, who made the world without all of these tragedies, will restore it back to order again. Through the work of redemption through Jesus Christ “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption.” (Romans 8:21) We wait patiently and eagerly for God’s plan of restoration. And that day is coming, for God promises it!
WHY DOESN’T HE COME NOW THEN?
Some may hear of his promise to redeem creation and wonder why is it that he hasn’t come and fixed things yet then? They may point their finger angrily at God amidst tragedies like the one in Syria and say that he has forgotten us. The Bible addresses this question first by actually repeating it,
They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”- 2 Peter 3:4
Then Peter continues on in addressing this question by responding,
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”- 2 Peter 3:9
You see, the Lord Jesus Christ did not just come to redeem creation but he came to redeem man and the broken relationship with God. By Jesus living the perfect life on Earth, dying the death we deserved, and rising from the dead, those who repent and put their faith and trust in him will receive forgiveness and will not perish but be with Jesus forever in a new and redeemed heavens and Earth with no more death or pain. He hasn’t come yet, because he loves us and doesn’t want us to perish.
Jesus is the only hope in hoplessness, both for man and creation.
beautifully said my friend