The news from around the world continues to be nothing less than heartbreaking. Often it is simply too much to allow ourselves to really engage with what is happening around the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a healing balm for the sake of the suffering, not a means of escaping it.
During times like these, we need to remember that evil is alive and well in our world. We can easily buy into our society’s notion that the world is always getting better. The idea of progress is a deceptive belief. Improvements to our standard of living are not the same as moral progress. It doesn’t mean that we love each other more, are more compassionate, or are more forgiving of one another. The headlines should be a daily reminder that evil and brokenness are as much with us today as they were in the Old Testament. We shouldn’t expect that because someone invented a better smartphone we will be able to love our neighbors as ourselves.
That’s because evil is not merely a problem of the bad guys in our world. The evil in them is also in us. The Nobel Prize winning Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously described this problem. “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”
That’s the bad news. But the good news is that we can also fight that evil. Jesus Christ is the only true answer to evil in our world, and as we seek His kingdom we are fighting evil in us and around the world.
So, when we feel overwhelmed by the state of our world, we can take courage. Jesus, who defeated death is still at work. Therefore, our first response must be to pray. Whenever World Vision enters a community or responds to a disaster, we consistently find that God has been at work long before we arrived. He is changing hearts and responding to needs—often in miraculous ways. Prayer allows us to stand alongside the work that God is already doing.
Usually, we can tangibly respond, trying to make a difference even in seemingly hopeless situations around the world. The troubles in the Middle East? The Coronavirus? Gangs in Central America? Christian organizations are on the ground making a difference in all those places.
Knowing that God is at work and you are joining Him can transform our attitude toward situations that might otherwise seem hopeless. Maybe we can’t fix a problem all by ourselves, but we can make the situation better for someone.
In the end, we have to embrace the values of the kingdom of God in our own lives. We have to fight the evil in ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit, prayer, acts of compassion, sacrifice, generosity, and love. We do this in our own families, our churches, and our communities. Our response to evil is to show the world a different way to live. It’s because Jesus is Lord that we need not fear the evil in our world, we need not be surprised by it, and we needn’t worry. Jesus is working, even now—and perhaps through you—to make all things new.
~ By Richard Stearns, President Emeritus, World Vision U.S.
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