I just saw a photo of a Christian man in Iraq, holding up his daughters lifeless body. Her head was not attached. I tried to hold back the tears, but because I am a human being with a heart made new, I just can’t. And what if it were my daughter? I can’t…
As we continue to hear about the atrocities being carried out by ISIS—the Islamic terrorist organization that is currently sweeping through Iraq—we are all dealing with a complex variety of emotions, none of which are singular or static. We are angry, and we are heartbroken. We want blood and revenge, and yet, we know that there is a better way. We know that vengeance is right and good, but only when it’s being carried out by the One who has promised to avenge His people. We want to do something now, but we trust in His promise for future justice.
…since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might
There are so many different ways we can begin to carry out this conversation, thinking through this tragic situation together. We could be talking about the need to bear our brother’s burdens with them (Galatians 6:2) as they suffer under the weight of persecution. We could encourage these brothers to delight in their loss, knowing that it is nothing compared to what they will receive in it’s place (2 Corinthians 4:17). We could even take the whole book of Hebrews as a banner, waving it high in the air, pointing to it as a source of comfort, hope, and even joy (Hebrews 10:34) for our brothers who are crumbling under the impossible weight of persecution.
But I want to take this thing in a different direction. I want to take it where I feel like it’s taking me, as a parent, as I continue to see and hear more reports of children being stripped away from their parents, murdered… their lives being stolen from them by people who think that they are gods. What are these parents going through right now, even as I sit and stare at my computer screen, trying to string these words together?
As I’m typing, my daughter is throwing a fit because I’m not giving her a piece of ice that she wants. She’s covered in bug bites, and probably has a parasite from the river water she drank the other day, but she’s in no serious danger, and she likely won’t be in the near future. She’s relatively safe. I, as her father, am tranquil, knowing that I can, in a very real way, protect her from most of the dangers that she will encounter as a two year old.
No one is coming to our house, kicking in our door, demanding conversion, raping my wife, or beheading my children. If I were in Mosul, Iraq, though, that threat would be a very real one, and I would be lost in the throes of fear right now. That terrible reality has already overcome many Christian families in several cities in Iraq and Syria, and to the parents of those families, I just want to say: God, our Father in heaven, understands, and He is with you as you suffer.
God lost his son. God, for the sake of love, the good of our souls, and the glory of his own name, gave up the most beautiful, precious, pure, and wonderful thing to ever touch this sin-stained world: His Son. The pain of losing a child (I can only imagine), is the ABSOLUTE worst pain any of us can endure while still in these mortal bodies, and I want you to know that this terrible, excruciating pain that you are going through is something that the God you serve knows, and understands, and because He is good, and because He loves you, He will not let it be for nothing. Your daughters… your sons, my Christian brothers, they will be made much of in the kingdom of God. Their deaths will reverberate throughout eternity, and they are already there, bathing in the glory of the One who made them.
Whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will find it (Matthew 10:39), and I know that as you watched your children breath their last breath, and close their eyes into eternity, you did nothing short of lose your life. I know you died a thousand deaths, and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if you are His, it will not be in vain. It will not be for nothing.
As you wait for God to bring his wrath upon your (and His) enemies, I encourage you to pray, asking for help in your time of need. I encourage you to read His Word, and be taken in by the God who can truly conquer sin and death. I encourage you to gather together, if possible, encouraging each other to stand firm in this day of tribulation. I encourage you to remember that you are only here as a vapor, and soon enough, my dear brothers, he will wipe away every tear from your eye, and you will be with him, in perfect peace, as you reign with him forever and ever. Amen.
*to anyone reading this who hasn’t prayed for their brothers: “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” Hebrews 13:3. This is not a suggestion.