The above image has been floating around the Internet. I always loved Fred Rogers. :)
I was online yesterday when the alerts of the explosion at the Boston Marathon started showing up. So I turned on the TV in the living room to find all the major stations were broadcasting the carnage... heartbreaking sights and now stories are being told of lives changed forever.
Like "the helpers" Fred Rogers was talking about, the first thing I noticed were the people running toward the explosion, just as on 9/11 when most were running away from the danger... the First Responders and other brave people were running toward it. :)
I watched a little news off and on for updates today but otherwise stayed away from the 24/7 news channels. Instead I was thinking (of all things) about C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy which consists of Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.
These books were written just prior to and during WWII. While written as science fiction, one can see the war of Good vs. Evil on "The Silent Planet"... that being our own Earth. When I saw evil as was carried out against the people in Boston yesterday, it reminded me that we are indeed in the midst of that battle.
As for athletes losing limbs, innocent women and men spending hours in surgery to remove shrapnel, little boys blown up after hugging their father as he crossed the finish line, limbs lost, eardrums blown out... we find it hard to process such evil incarnate.
When evil shows its' ugly face we are to do the opposite of what the enemy of our soul expects. We don't give up, we don't hate, we don't become terrorized and spend our days in fear. Instead we read His Word, perhaps spending more time than usual in the Psalms. We run closer to the Lord, not away from Him.
We help our neighbor next door or our friend across the nation. We pray, we pray a lot... we expect prayer to be answered but perhaps not in the way we expect.
We are to be the helpers running to the hurting for we have the Ultimate Helper within us and we are to be His hands, His feet, His eyes, His ears... bringing His words to the hurting world.
We are to be His light in the midst of a very, very dark world. No, we don't have the answers to pain and suffering except that evil does exist... and we know in the end evil does not win.
6 comments:
Beautifully put! Thank you!
Jane
I was thinking about being His hands, feet and words to others today. Not because of any first responder type activity, but that whenever we reach out to love, or mentor or bring folks into your family, you are doing His work on earth.
My Dad was a first responder for many years, as a volunteer with his local fire company. He got up and answered his page no matter the weather be it ice or a hurricane, and no matter the time.
I am thankful for those who serve us in these ways.
Deanna
Well said - I too love this quote by Mr. Rogers. Thanks for these encouraging words.
Great post! So true! Thanks for sharing it.
Amen ~
Evil will not win. It's just that we are in these birth pangs leading to some truly horrific times, that I hope not to be a part of, and it can look bleak indeed. Such horrors have always been a part of the human condition. Mr. Rogers...what a peach of a man...simple, unassuming, gentle. So glad that his legacy continues.
And now to be about the Father's business... Thank you for being such a comfort.
Post a Comment