” GOD IS….. LONGSUFFERING TOWARDS US, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.” – 2 Pet.3:9.
Countless numbers of refugees from Africa and the Arab countries have perished in the Mediterranean in the recent past. But the world will never forget the image of three year old Aylan Kurdhi lying face down in the sand on a loney beach in Bodrumin, Turkey. He died along with his mother and five year old brother. His death was the culmination of a series of tragic events that unfolded in the heart of the Arab world. The Arab “Spring of Hope” has ended in its “Winter of Despair”! The world bemoans the tragedy of Aylan, and his death continues to haunt the conscience of the civilized world. Then there is yet a more tragic death; a death that took place two thousand years ago; an innocent man – a man called JESUS was betrayed, rejected and sold for thirty pieces of silver, and condemned to die on a cruel cross on a mount called Calvary; and His death tears apart the heart of God day in and day out – because that man was GOD’S very own SON! He died just like Aylan – for no fault of his own, but for the sins of all mankind. To obtain us pardon and forgiveness for our sins, and reconcile us with God. He did not die a solitary death; He died on behalf of all of us! Just as Aylan’s death has helped all of the Arab world, Jesus’ death has redeemed all of mankind!
I also came across this cartoon drawing depicting Aylan after his death, meeting with some children in heaven. Children, who like him had fallen victim to a war that had raged in Sri Lanka for over three deacdes. The children express dismay over the fact that Aylan’s death had caught the attention of the wider-world and the world had galvanized itself into action, but their deaths didn’t seem to matter much in the eyes of the world at large; they were not as fortunate. I sympathize with their sentiments and the logic and reasoning of the artist. The caption reads “Sri Lankan Tamil kids”. True and heartrending. I wish the world had stepped in and done much more to save the lives of these innocents. Yet, there were also scores of Sinhalese Kids who lost their lives in that insane and brutal war. Their lives too matter. All lives matter. The lives of the Arabs, the Jews, the Tamils, the Sinhalese, the Muslims, and the burghers. All lives matter. “IT IS NOT THE WILL OF GOD THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT ALL SHOULD REPENT AND FIND ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH HIS SON – JESUS CHRIST!”
God bless you,
– Pastor Dayalan Sanders.
