The United States of America is at war. This nation has never declared this
kind of war before now. It is a war not against one nation, or even a group
of nations, but against certain people in as many as 60 countries.
The United States of America is at war. This nation has never declared this
kind of war before now. It is a war not against one nation, or even a group of nations, but against certain people in as many as 60 countries.
There will not be a single symbol of our enemy – no one flag or national
symbol. Terrorism wears many faces, originates from many nations, employs uncoordinated
and unpredictable tactics, attacks from unexpected places against unprepared
targets.
The overwhelming majority of the citizens of this land believe such a war is
justified if not outright demanded. Every time the images of the rubble where
once stood the World Trade Center flash across the vision of America, the cries
for justice intensify. Every time the nation sees or hears another person tell
of a lost loved one, the country’s level of outrage kicks up another notch.
What is the church’s role in this unknown land of national exertion of
power?
The church should not underestimate its role. During these days of national
crisis, quoted again and again is II Chronicles 7:14, ” . . . and My people
who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin,
and will heal their land.” The weight of fulfilling the demands of this
verse is upon God’s people – not the nation of the United States,
but the people who have accepted the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the United
States. Christian people are responsible for the spiritual welfare of our nation.
In this time of a war that pits our nation’s strength against what will
seem more like ghosts and shadows than uniformed soldiers and tanks, the church
will do well to remind itself and the nation that the Bible places the exercise
of justice against evildoers in the hands of the government. Vigilantism has
no place in our country. Sadly, there are already accounts of citizens of this
nation striking out against Arabs from different nations who now live in the
United States. Word has come to this editor about a junior high student who
is a natural born citizen of this country, whose father is a respected physician
and whose father and mother are naturalized citizens who immigrated to the United
States. Because the family immigrated from an Arab country, the son was beaten
by classmates on a bus coming home from school. The father also has been harassed
and threatened.
These family members are active members of a Louisiana Baptist church who were
distraught by the terrorist acts committed against what is now their country.
A major temptation during war is letting our feelings against the real enemy
bleed into our feelings about anyone who reminds us of the enemy. During these
days, the church must hold Christians to the standard that demands leaving justice
in the hands of the government and rejecting prejudice against others, even
those who remind us of the enemy.
The church certainly must be in continuous prayer for God’s leadership
in the heart and mind of our President and his cabinet and the United States
Congress. Our president is a person of faith and as we pray for him, a great
chain of divine influence can result. The United States Congress appears united
behind President George W. Bush as does the country. There is nothing more helpful
that we can render our leaders than praying continuously for them.
We must also remember to pray for our enemies. In this war, multitudes of unbelievers
will be killed and they will not have another opportunity to hear the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, or accept Him as Lord and Savior. By God’s mercy, may
this war end more quickly than we can imagine with a remarkably small loss of
human life.
Fervent nationalism always floods across the land at the outset of national
disaster. The first days of this crisis and the coming war are not the strongest
test of our patriotism and Christian faith. The strongest test comes in the
days ahead. Amidst the brandishing of our national strength and pride, there
must be humble faith and dedicated prayer. Our nation’s strength is not
going to be in our wealth and military power and “Americanism” nearly
as much as in our church’s walk with the Lord.