Daily Musings
Contrast - 09/05/2008
I was startled yesterday morning (Thursday) by two stories on Internet news. Both came from the country of Kenya where I lived for three years, and both stories were about places I have been. The contrast was at once dramatic and horrifying.
The first story was about the first snowfall in the Rift Valley in memory. I watched scenes of children playing in the snow and making snowballs. One man described his experience of tasting the snow. It was all a scene of delight, and the land looked clean and pure.
The next story was about renewed and increasing violence in the area. It recorded on film a man trying to escape a machete-wielding crowd but then being run over by a van. The apparently dead man was then hit with a machete by one of the rioters. Other scenes showed burning houses and finally ended with images of the army coming in to attempt to restore order. The scene had been one of tribal warfare in all its brutality.
The world in which we live is indeed one of contrasts. The Lord has given us much natural beauty to reflect his glory. At the same time we live in a world cursed by sin and selfishness. What is needed is not a cleansing snow but the application of Christ's blood to blood-stained hands. We are all in need of his forgiveness and cleansing. Having received this forgiveness ourselves we need to seek to extend that forgiveness and healing in His name to those still blinded and in jeopardy of much greater and eternal horror.
Gareth Tonnessen
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