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Christ First
by Anthony - a Christian on ,
Dear Brother,
I appreciate you sharing your honest feelings about what is going on in Gaza. Indeed I have spent the last number of days praying for all the people on both sides of this conflict. At first I wasn't sure whether to respond, but I would like to point out several important things that it seems you may have missed:
- The Lord has called us to be first and foremost citizens of His kingdom, period. We must die to our national identity. In your letter you feed the "us and them" attitude, by elevating national identity above the common ground of Christ. When we meet, there are no Israelis or Palestinians or Jews or Arabs. There are only children of God, sinners saved by the blood of Christ. The supernatural power of Christ is seen when we are able to show love in the face of injustice, when others respond in hate and revenge.
- You speak as if you blame your Messianic brothers for the decisions made by the Israeli government. This is highly inappropriate. The secular government of Israel, as we both know, does nothing to help or support Messianic believers, and Messianic believers hold no sway over the government. How can you hold them responsible for the blood on the hands of "their" army, while you do not take responsibility for the blood on the hands of the Palestinian people. Are you responsible for the blood of the innocent people killed by Hamas and others? You say you are against the killing of innocent people. Well, has it ever occurred to you that the percentage of innocent people killed by terror attacks and rockets is 100%! This is far higher than in planned military operations. (According to the UN, 62 of the 383 killed so far are civilians. This is 16%.)
- If you want to make a brave stand for what is right and true, why do you say nothing about radical Islam and Hamas, while they threaten and kill innocent Israelis? In addition, as you well know, they continue to threaten and even kill Palestinian believers. You must also be aware that Hamas uses the Palestinian people as human shields. This is incredible injustice and disregard for the innocent! The way they draw violence to population centers is insanity. Your silence on this issue makes me believe that you do not see this as injustice. Brother, if you are looking for Israeli believers to come with a repentant heart to you, then you must also come with a repentant heart to them. There is no such thing as a one-sided conflict. I challenge you to stand and condemn loudly the injustice done by your own people against innocent Israelis and Palestinians.
- Lastly, I find it rather odd that you group all the Messianic believers together and accuse them of "approving the death and injury of hundreds... including innocent children." Do you forget that many of these believers have loved ones directly affected by this conflict? I do not know a single believer who is happy about this, or sitting back with an attitude of approval. In fact, everyone I know is very sad, on their knees praying for all involved on both sides, especially for the believers.
The Palestinian people need and deserve a new type of leadership that will lead in a new direction. Hamas has failed them, Fatah has failed them, Islam has failed them. They need to see the power of the blood of Jesus. As the academic dean of a Bible college, I hope that you can give the Palestinian people something different than the same anger that is seen in the Muslim Palestinian leadership. The power of the blood is shown strongest in repentance, forgiveness, and love. This is what is required from every believer, whether Israeli, Palestinian, or anything else.
May God Bless You and your ministry.
- anthony
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