Mar2013

What are we going to do now?

Imagine a beloved wife being violently abused by several men during the night, until dawn and, worse, she dies.

How would any dedicated husband react?

What if the husband was God-fearing, religious and peaceful?

Is this God’s will? Destiny? Karma? A cross he must bear? A trial?

I don’t believe in any of that.

It is obvious that the Lord allowed it to happen. But, why?

I do not know.

All I know is: whatever the disastrous situation in which we find ourselves, the power of faith enables us to make a comeback.

Furthermore, our faith in God does not allow us to be passive in the face of such aggression.

There should be a natural reaction.

On the day the men of Gibeah took the wife of a Levite and abused her to death, the Levite no longer took his religion into consideration, much less his pacifism.

He immediately brought her back home, took a knife and cut her into twelve pieces and sent them to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The deep pain of such a loss, coupled with the shame of humiliation, served as a trigger to move his faith of revolt, a faith that works.

All those who saw the body parts said:

- We've never seen anything like this! Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt! Just imagine!

We must do something! Judges 19.30 NIV

So, they came together as one and declared war on their brothers, the sons of Benjamin.

Humiliation always provokes a reaction, whether it’s positive or negative.

A negative reaction is limited to a mere red face of embarrassment.

In this case, faith is a matter of a religious routine. The embarrassment takes place and that’s it.

A positive reaction is an attitude of revolt against a situation.

Faith boils and drives the person to take an act of revolt.

- See more at: http://www.bispomacedo.com.br/en/2013/03/01/what-are-we-going-to-do-now/#more-7079