The Purge.

I'm watching 60 minutes. Wade and Allison go to bed at 9 and take multi-vitamins. My geriatric vice? 60 minutes. I'm watching a story about a man who is one of the last few Christian reverends in Iraq. He has MS. He is working to save the last few aramaic-speaking Christians in Iraq. They speak the language that Jesus did in the lands where He lived and this man has to try to keep them alive. The status of Christianity in Iraq is worse now than it has been in the past 2,000 years. He says Sadaam, as horrible as he was, at least provided religious freedom. The "street justice" that exists now is barbaric. What I'm watching is terrifying. A man with pictures of his two children who had been shot because he was a Christian. The reverend told of his entire church leadership team who have all been killed since the beginning of the war. Notes posted on Christian churches reading, "To the Christians: We are the secret Islamic army and this is your last and final threat. If you don't leave your home, your blood and your family's blood will be spilled." Now, I'm not trying to make a politically-charged statement through my blog. Just an eye-opening read. As I'm writing this my eyes are being opened to the atrocities that people face every day because of their faith. Ever since the Columbine shooting, I have wondered what my response would be if someone were threatening to kill me and asked if I was a Christian. When we heard that report, we couldn't believe someone would die for their beliefs in our country. But, people are facing this every day. We so easily celebrate our religious freedom in our country without even batting an eye. I drove to church this morning, walked in the door, played the piano, joked with friends, visited over coffee, prayed in the open, sang into a microphone. How different life can be just an ocean away and how easy it is to look the other way and forget that which is not right in front of our own faces.

Many people might hear this report or read this and blame God. How could He let this happen to people He claims He loves? The man I just watched this story about addressed that question without hesitation. He said, "God is with you. No matter what is going on around you, God is with you. I know He is with me, and I'm not going anywhere." Wow. I can't imagine this man's faith. His fervor to protect his sacred beliefs in the midst of utter disaster and persecution. Christian or not, we can all learn a lesson of dedication and passion from him. I'm reading a book called the Shack, and in it the main character Mack, has the same type of question. How can a loving God exist in a horrible fallen world? In the book, God answers, "This world is broken and fallen. We (God) did not come to fix the world. We came to redeem it." Beautiful.

Take a look at the story: The Purge at www.60minutes.com