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I tried to find a good followup to the previous post on YouTube but I haven’t found one yet. So instead I am going to post the 20/20 interview with Gibson in the meantime. Because the YouTube videos take up so much space on the page I’m going to instead post links. – David
Part 1 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTyaPxfoeFc
Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBA-obGXEec
I find the idea of war very difficult to swallow. Especially when lives are lost, the purpose behind it is not completely clear and those being delivered appear want to remain under oppression. Yet through all this, war is a fact of life in this age whether we choose to participate in it or not.
I do though know a little about human nature and the Enemy of Man, Satan, and his desire to steal kill and destroy every last one of us. It’s not just about our Enemy though, it is also about our choice to rebel against our Creator who is wholly good and right. When we make choices to turn away from Him it empowers the Enemy to do what he loves best and that is to destroy the very image of God – man.
Man then in his rebellion becomes an agent for our common Enemy. Man in turn will steal, kill and destroy. ”Christian” and non-christian alike are a subject to such corruption. Then as each generation continues in its rebellion it manifests in our world presenting us with the world we see today. A world where women are oppressed, the unborn are killed, people are enslaved, children are raped, the innocent are traded for sex, people groups are brutally murdered and so much more.
The cause of pain on the earth is us. We, each and every one of us, have made choices to rebel against God. Some have made it more of a priority than others. Fortunately God has made a way through the sacrifice of his son Jesus to rescue us from ourselves. Jesus came to set us free. Not in a short term sense like an act of sacrifice that frees us from temporary bondage but in a long term eternal sense.
God longs to see his creation free from bondage both in the natural and spiritual sense. Jesus came to do both and in time we will see our Enemy and his willing agents destroyed completely and those who chose Righteousness (Jesus) set free. Their freedom will be complete, natural and spiritual. This war will be the bloodiest and most brutal in all of history. It will be a war against Satan (and those who choose unrighteousness) and the heavenly man Jesus (and those who choose righteousness).
So I believe war is a visible manifestation of man’s rebellion towards his Creator. Then it could be said that liberating the oppressed is an act of God if the purpose behind it is true justice. So when looking specifically at the war in Iraq if it is really about freedom then I support it. Unfortunately because I am unable to read the minds of those in leadership and those on the ground fighting the war my support of it is uneasy and tentative.
I am glad though that there are many like the young men like the one in the video below (you must see it to the end to get my point) who seem to truly exercise justice at the expense of their own bodies. It is men like these that I give my honor and respect to because they are acting much like our creator (in a partial sense) by sacrificing themselves for the liberation of those oppressed.
I hope we can find a way to leave Iraq, Afghanistan and every other place where American lives are being lost almost every day. Yet because I am a lover of Truth (Jesus) and know that the heart of men is wicked I know the road will not be easy if not impossible. Therefore perhaps we should leave Iraq since it seems the people don’t seem to want to be liberated anyway.
This is why this subject is so frustrating to me and I talk little about it. We were not meant or created to war against each other but to live free from the tyranny of sin. So until that day we then must continually seek what is right and just, the man who is God – Jesus. Only he can (and will) liberate us.
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
