We have all looked on in horror as graphic images emerged showing the slaughtering of innocent children, men and women. While these pictures of dead children are graphic, disturbing and undoubtedly the worst so far to have emerged from the conflict in Gaza and the surrounding countries, we should publish them in order to raise awareness of the plight of innocent people in a war that shows no sign of ending. These children …. unoffending, innocent, and beautiful …. were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. And yet they died nobly. They are the martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity. As they are being buried, they have something to say to each of us in their death. They have something to say to every minister of the gospel who has remained silent behind the safe security of stained-glass windows. They have something to say to every politician who has fed his constituents with the stale bread of hatred and the spoiled meat of racism. They have something to say to every Christian, Muslim and Jew who have passively accepted the evil system of segregation and who has stood on the sidelines in a mighty struggle for justice. They say to each of us, black and white alike, Christian, Muslim or Jew, that we must substitute courage for caution. They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers. Their death says to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for this realization of a peaceful world. The innocent blood of these children may well serve as a redemptive force that will bring new light to this dark world we live in. The holy Scripture says, A little child shall lead them. In spite of the darkness of the past weeks, we must not despair. We must not become bitter, nor must we harbor the desire to retaliate with violence. No, we must not lose faith in our brothers and sisters. Somehow we must believe that the most misguided among them can learn to respect the dignity and the worth of all human personality. I hope you can find some consolation from Christianity that death is not the end. Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal. Let this daring faith, this great invincible surmise, be your sustaining power during these trying days. God bless and RIP.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 05:30:41 +0000
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