The world watched in shock Friday at the bloodshed and carnage that changed the face of Paris. As the casualty count grew, world leaders chimed in with their support, some heartfelt, some anemic. This is the third time in a hundred years that Paris has been touched by war. Yes, I said war.
It’s a war between good and evil. I know that it is common now to explain away terrorism, excusing their behavior, assigning noble purposes to their actions, but make no mistake, evil is evil. When a terrorist act, which by definition is for the purpose of creating fear and not to punish guilty individuals, is perpetrated, that is evil, pure and simple.
As a Christian, I believe that this world is indeed in the middle of a war, a war between good and evil. A war to determine whether God’s law of love will prevail against Satan’s kingdom of hate and destruction. Evil acts, whether performed by terrorist groups, nation-states, or individuals, all have one thing in common- men and women choosing wrong over right.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV.
Evil will continue until Jesus comes to take His children home. What should we do in the mean time? Grieve for those in great suffering. Reach out to help. Call evil by it’s right name, and yes that means not only in Paris, but Beirut and elsewhere. Support justice and punishment for evildoers. And yes, pray. Pray for the evil doers that they will come to their senses and recognize their evil. Pray for the victims maimed and lost. Pray for the families left behind. Pray for those on the front lines fighting to protect us.
As we move closer to Thanksgiving, I pray that we are thankful for the simplicity of a plain red coffee cup rather than searching to find evil in the wrong corners. Instead, that we remove our heads from the sand, recognize the war and true evil for what it is, and choose to fight it.