Good News from the Middle East?
We like to gripe about war, how about supporting those that are doing something about it?
Many people complain about the state of the world, conflict, war, politics, ah! But there’s some good news. In all these conflict zones, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Palestine, there are groups serving others that challenge stereotypes... they are declaring ‘every evil at every level is a defeated foe!’ They defy the tidy us/them categories of political, sectarian and religious divisions. Yes, there are plenty of people doing good things, but you won’t hear about them listening to the news, culture warriors or commentators. An example… I love this new video elaborating a compelling Christian missiology. Watch below…
Impact Middle East is a group establishing missional communities of faith across the region and serving the least of these with compassion. Many of us are disheartened at the state of affairs, but these folks are doing something about it. Solutions to war and conflict don’t have to be flashy, political, big… Jesus consistently referred to the Kingdom as small, growing and filled with the little, the least, the last, the lost and even the dead1. Seems the beatitudes confirm this… blessed are the poor, persecuted, hungry, those the world has cast off. But its through these favored ones that the Kingdom of God is coming.
If you’re inclined to year-end giving, why not donate to some brothers and sisters like these who are making a difference in some of the most difficult places in the world?
Capon, Robert Farrar. Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus. Combined edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002.