To: Reading the News

Today I was the reading news when something inside of me clicked.  I know that explanation is vague, but it’s the truth.  I scrolled through article after article and soon found that the ‘clicking’ was something much deeper than a weird interest in the news.  It was conviction.  It was a calling to read, not just scan.  To hear, not just listen.  To pay attention, not just watch.   

Instantly I felt catapulted into a rollercoaster of emotion.  I knew of the unrest in the Middle East, I had read plenty on ISIS, I had skimmed the headlines regarding James Foley, but I hadn’t slowed down long enough to immerse my head AND my heart into the current state of our world.  And, for some reason, today was that day. 

If I’m being honest, when I read the news with only my head, it can intimidate me.  I haven’t traveled the world.  I’ve lived in Texas my entire life.  I was raised in the church, went to one of the most conservative universities in America, and am a stay at home mom.  I usually see the global news as a whole different world.  Something beyond my grasp or over my head. 

Yes, I see hurt.  Yes, I see pain.  And, yes, I see evil, but I don’t know the history.  I don’t know the past.  I don’t know the full story of Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinians and the Jews, Iraq and its political turmoil, the Kurdish people and their fight for justice, or the many civil wars that are taking place because of beliefs, grudges, and politics that run generations deep. 

I know terrible things are taking place all over the Earth, but when I find myself reading about them, I grow lost in a sea of names I can’t pronounce, information that seems to contradict itself, and references to past policies or wars I’m unfamiliar with.  I feel daunted by information I should have known before even starting to understand what is currently happening.  When reading the news, I sometimes find myself in a crash course on the Islamic State, Arabic countries, or other unknown terms I read in these articles, or I just give up and move on to something else, leaving the stories of hate, oppression, and pain behind. 

I’m lost in dates, allegiances, borders, or names I probably won’t remember in a month - this is what happens when I read the news with my head.

But today, as a mother of an almost two year old who sleeps peacefully down the hall, as a woman who has the right to be in either the workplace or the home, as a wife of a man who listens to my opinions and ideas, and as a Christian who can claim Christ as my Savior without fear of persecution, the Lord taught me to start reading the news with my heart.

Yes, it will break.  Yes, it will hurt.  Yes, it will cry out, but I have been called to see the world through the eyes of Christ.  I have been called to read the news with my head AND my heart. 

When Christ ascended into Heaven, he didn’t tell his disciples to move into the safe neighborhoods and enjoy life in the suburban bubble.  He didn’t command them to head west, take for granted their religious freedom, and scan the news headlines every now and then.  He didn’t say to read about the heartbreaking things of this world and feel detached or unaffected because it’s not happening in your neighborhood. 

No, in fact, he said the very opposite. 

He said, GO.  Go and make disciples of ALL nations.  Not the nations with the same language as yours, not the nations that make you feel comfortable, and not just the nations in the news.  He said ALL nations. 

I read this commandment now not purely as a charge for evangelism but as an encouragement from an All Knowing God.  I believe He knew the struggles and wars humans would create on account of our differences, so He planted this seed from the beginning.  Unfortunately, it has not been one we have watered well. 

He knew our human minds would fill with skepticism, criticism, fear, ignorance, and even hate for people who don’t act like we do, look like we do, speak like we do, or live where we do. He knew the evil we would be up against, and He set a precedence of understanding, respect, and love for all people.  

His own lineage included a Moabite and a Canaanite.  Christ himself was a melting pot. 

When the Israelites asked about loving your neighbor, he responded with a story about a selfless Samaritan, the very people group the Israelites detested. 

Christ was preaching diversity before it was a buzz word. 

So, when I read the news with my heart, I realize that I don’t need a doctorate in Middle Eastern history to understand oppression.  I don’t need a degree from Harvard to feel burdened by the evil I see in all of the headlines.  There isn’t a classroom in this world or a level of genius that can explain all that is really occurring or how it is rooted in history.      

All I need to know is this: 

We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who is every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.      -Hebrews 4:15 & 16

You see, when you read the news with your heart, it doesn’t mean to just sit there and cry.  It doesn’t mean to focus on your own guilt for having freedoms others around the world don’t have.  It means to take it to the THRONE OF GRACE.

A beheading of an American journalist in Syria; innocent men, women and children murdered for their faith; thousands of families displaced from their homes; racial tensions and riots in Ferguson; the threat of the Ebola virus. 

I could go on and on here, but you get the point.

I take each of these to the throne.  And, not because I am scared.  And, not because I will feel “bad” if I don’t.  But because I know the Author of all the news.  I know the King of this world AND the next.  I know the One who holds the keys to death and Hades.  And, He sits on a throne of GRACE, not condemnation, disappointment, sadness, indifference or frustration.  He understands sin and the way it weaves through the human soul and whispers lies about who we are and what we should believe.  Where else, but His merciful throne, can we find refuge and hope when terrible and confusing things are happening all around us?  

So, I don’t read the news for a political stance or an opinion on Obama’s vacation schedule.  I don’t read the news to condemn humanity.  And, I don’t read the news to gain a better understanding of economic trends. 

I read it to connect with my brothers and sisters in ALL nations.  I read it because the God I freely serve here in America, died and rose again for every person on this globe, and I don’t want to miss Him in action.  I want to see His glory come to pass amidst all this evil.  I want to hold tight to His promises through this turmoil.  I want to cling to His peace amongst all of this chaos.  

I stay up to date with current events not because it makes me feel smart but because Christ commanded I GO.  And, I don’t think it has to always be on a plane.  We live in the 21^st century.  In seasons of life, GO is across the ocean, at your fingertips or down the street.  Discover the world around you.  Meet and learn about people in your own neighborhood, chances are they’re different from you. 

GO doesn’t mean to close the article because it’s over your head, it means to press forward until you do understand.  Pray for the oppressed, get out of your bubble, read the stories, take them to the throne, and, in faith, watch God claim the victory. 

GO doesn’t just mean when you’ve raised the money to travel to a third world country, it means to constantly understand this world isn’t just about YOU.  It’s about Him.  Always has been and always will be. 

GO isn’t an address or geographical location.  It’s a state of mind.  It’s an issue of the heart.  It’s the heartbeat of a God who called all of us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we don’t need a PhD for that.             

So, as I closed my news browser and opened my email, it’s not coincidental that an email from No Ordinary Love Ministries popped in my inbox.

My cousin, Rachel, her husband, Jimmy, and their four precious children are living in Jordan right now.  They founded No Ordinary Love Ministries in 2011.  Their hearts are for the oppressed, the voiceless, and the hurting.  Amid my spiritual stirring of reading the news with purpose and praying for ALL nations with conviction, their newsletter attached faces and specific needs to my heart’s cry.  I guess it wasn’t just for “some reason” that today was the day that all of this “clicked”.  Funny how that always happens. 

http://www.noordinarylove.org

Read their blog and check out their ministry yourself.  Pray for them.  Act alongside them.  They are the hands and feet of Christ.  God said GO, and they did.  Their stories aren’t the ones making the nightly headlines, but it’s what happens when we don’t let the news of this world define us, rather we believe, pray, and act out of a heart that has been transformed by the greatest news of all.    

From: Paige