Nothing and Everything.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Yesterday we have been talking about a future for one of the nations on this planet. We have talked about God's love for the people in Iran. Yet there were other important observations in the news which we cannot ignore. Two women were killed in Yemen who were on exactly Jesus mission of mercy and grace. They had been trained in a Germany bible school and were working for an aid organization, when they were captured by violent fighters and then found dead some days after this event.

We need to realize that taking Jesus serious can be investing everything. It is full investment of our lifes. His warnings that his followers might be killed is still valid today. Of course many people are killed in the wars and fights of our time - Christians as well as people from various beliefs, and we mourn for them all! We all share to some extent this fate of suffering under the state of our global world. But it hits particularly some of those who go and act, who leave their save little worlds and offer a helping hand.

We might blame “the world”. We might blame local leaders. We might find responsibility in the decisions of the people who actually did the killing. And they are responsible. But it is also us who are responsible. We accept a world where some have everything and others have trouble to earn their daily food. We accept a world with states like Yemen where 15% of the population lives from less then 1.25$ per day, from 23 Million people. To be clear: I do not believe that it will be easy to change. We need efforts on all political and social levels. We will not do this without international institutions, the United Nations, without many non-governmental organizations working together on all levels. We will not be able to do it without all social groups which bear responsibility in our country. But there is no other way than to be there and move forward!

Can we do something? Yes, we can. We can develop a realistic and open attitude towards trade, towards social exchange and interaction with the states of this earth. We can communicate good practices of economic and social processes. We can pray for the people. And we can follow the opportunities which are given to us on a personal level, in our job or in our local community. In our local church in the south of England we have people from more than 30 nations. Everyone is linked to the place where he grew up. It is a huge network of relations, which spreads quickly to every corner of this planet. It is one of God's ways to work and spread his love, in the middle of a global world. [R.W.E.P., jesusnetwork.eu]

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