April 16, 2013

Words - by Marcia Janson



Wars and rumours of wars; violence and terrorism; lawlessness and faithlessness; mishandling of the environment; sickness and poverty; political oppression…

How’s that for a depressing start to a blog post? Well, living in this world can be painful and difficult, especially as things seem to get worse rather than better. In North America, we are shielded from the more extreme elements of the above list, but it grieves our hearts to see it happening anywhere – near or far. The recent Boston Marathon bombing brings the horror a little closer to home and many of us are deeply unsettled by this act of terrorism. There is sadness for all the pain and a certain level of frustration and rage that the perpetrators have allowed evil to overcome them in this way.

Why did they do it? We don’t know what drives each individual person, but we can make some general guesses…

Separation from God.  Emotional and spiritual wounding.  Alienation.  Lies and deception.  Hatred.  Fear.

Sin.

One author puts it this way:

I believe there is pain, something untoward in certain people – certain communities, even – perhaps it’s anger, a sense of dispossession or disenfranchisement, and they have to destroy that which brings joy and love. ~ Jacqueline Winspear*

Those who follow Christ know this is true. Evil hates what is beautiful and good and wants to do away with it. From the very beginning and throughout the millennia, it has left a path of destruction in its wake, culminating at the cross. There the perfectly beautiful was tortured, disfigured and killed.  On the surface - another victory for evil.

But Christians know that isn’t the end of the story. When Christ gave himself up for us, God pulled back the curtain of death and separation once and for all. Jesus rose to life and now “...the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:5)

What does this have to do with Christian writers? We belong to Christ and his light is in us. When we draw close to him, he infuses our thoughts with his own. Our words can bring beauty into places of destruction, joyous blessing to mourning hearts and hope to despairing souls. 

So, when evil is performing a victory dance, with the media cheering it on, may God give us words of grace to overcome evil with good.

Gracious words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24
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* Jacqueline Winspear, Leaving Everything Most Loved
Photo credits: 
Sea storm -http://www.flickr.com/photos/sacharules/3573348242/



3 comments:

  1. Thank you for your encouraging words today

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  2. This is very encouraging. Thanks for the challenge to share words of grace in times like this.

    Pam Mytroen

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  3. Oh yes, Marcia, what a wonderful reminder that His light is in us during these dark times.

    My heart especially resonates with this sentence: "Our words can bring beauty into places of destruction, joyous blessing to mourning hearts and hope to despairing souls."

    Amen.

    ReplyDelete

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