Nowadays, one only has to open up their Facebook or Twitter account, or turn on the TV or radio, and there is an instant bombardment of bad news and current tragedies. It is not to say that tragic occurrences did not take place before, but we have faster and more widespread access to information in our age of technology that the sheer volume of it all can be quite overwhelming.
There is one important thing which can be noted; even though it is often said that we live in a civilized world, there is still violence everywhere. In this year alone, we have witnessed an ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the kidnapping of girls in Nigeria and most recently, a “cleansing” of Iraq by Islamic groups.
The main question is, after so many of these people died, all the homes that were destroyed, families separated and the rest of the atrocities which accompany these acts, have any problems been resolved? It does not appear to be the case.
Another response is to blame God for not intervening in these affairs, that if he truly loved us, he wouldn’t let this happen. However, even God himself came down to suffer, by bringing new meaning to suffering as a redemptive quality. WE know that God does not let something happen if it will not ultimately bring about goodness in the end, even though it may not seem like this from our perspective.
Does this mean we should be complacent with the evils we see around us? Certainly not, Christ wishes for us to labour in his name and to be his instrument of peace and goodness in the world. Sometimes it is our responsibility to intervene in the things we see happening around us that are against God and neighbour.
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