A Thought For The Week Of January 12, 2015

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him." (Psalm 62:5) In the light of recent events in the world (and specifically the terrorist attacks against the newspaper office in Paris, France) I find this verse and the promise that it holds out very meaningful. It's very easy to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the bad things that happen in the world; by the ghastly things that go on and that seem to keep going on. The terrorist attack on a Paris newspaper office to avenge offence that the newspaper caused was horrific - and for many, understandably frightening. And I can easily understand why some might be turned off all religion as a result of what happened and that others might seek revenge against those of other faiths who get blamed. But, first, I always remember that religious extremists exist in all religions (including in Christianity) and that they're capable of doing horrible things. Then, when I read a verse like this, I'm reminded of one of the key concepts of my own faith (and I believe this is a concept universal to all faiths) - that in God there is peace. What does that suggest? I would argue that as people who believe in God we shouldn't live in fear. Living in fear is obviously not living in peace. Faith should release us from fear rather than bind us with fear. In fact, I'd suggest that religious extremists of all stripes are themselves acting out of fear. If you don't have the strength to simply live your own faith and share it peacefully but instead have the need to bully others into agreeing with you or at least silence them into not disagreeing with you then you're not operating out of either faith or strength - you're operating out of fear and weakness. And why should anyone operate that way? After all, God is there; God is in control. Does anyone really believe that God needs believers of any stripe to commit horrific acts of violence to further some warped divine cause? I don't. As I understand it, God wants to give us peace. I find myself at peace within myself, and at peace with others of any and all faiths. That strikes me as how Jesus would want us to live!