Differences in Service

It's hunting widow weekend!

Alyssa and I stayed up late watching movies, eating popcorn and pumpkin seeds and just laughing together!  This morning, she is still sleeping (it is currently 1130 am), and I have done laundry, dishes and read a lot of Bible verses.

You see, I'm confused a bit.  Okay, probably a lot.  So I skipped church so I could attempt to figure it out.  Before you get all confused on me about skipping church to find answers, which is completely backwards for a believing church goer, I figured that all those hunters outside right now are skipping church to worship in their own way, so I can, too.

Besides, I really wanted specific answers to specific questions.

Right now, our French brothers and sisters are facing what America faced 14 years ago for 9/11- just on a smaller scale.

They are hurting, scared, worried and wanting answers just like we were doing.  They are also pulling together as a country, just like we did.

I think the biggest difference is that they closed their boarders, we opened ours up more.

When a devastation like this occurs, I will tend to read only one or two FaceBook articles and then I pray.  The attack on Paris was no different.

The second article I read said that one of the suicide bombers yelled "This is for Syria" before detonating himself to kill innocent people.  Here is the link.  At that very moment, I thought about how possible it would be for a terrorist to enter into America with the Syrian refugees and kill more innocent lives here.  Then I remembered that a city not too far from me has said that they will be accepting Syrian refugees.  Here is a link to that.

In my military trained head, red flags are flying everywhere.  I have family and friends that refugees are their passion.  All it takes is for one ISIS "refugee" to come here and wreak all sorts of hell.

So then, what is the answer?  How can we protect our families and our friends against this happening?  The sad and real answer is that we can't.

Background checks on all refugees will only get so far, and even then, only males between the ages of 18 and 45 are going to be getting them before they come into the US.  Here is that link.  What is also scary about this is that the background checks really won't do much good to begin with because the infrastructure in Syria, Iraq and other Middle East nations is nothing compared to what we have here in the states.  A full blown terrorist could pass through all of the check points as a refugee and attack us in our neighborhood.

If we shut the boarders down, though, what happens to all those who are really refugees?  There is a real fight for one's life in the Middle East right now to get away from the terrorist cells.  Thousands of families are fleeing the only homes they ever knew in an attempt to live and allow their children to live.  This is something that I will probably never have to face in my lifetime, nor my children's children will need to face.  As a christian, I know we are supposed to help the least of these in every possible way.  God tells us that when we open our hearts and homes to the poor, we are helping Him (Matthew 25).  We are told to love our our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39) and to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), as well.

Does that love mean to then put our family in harms way to help someone else out?

I am really struggling with that.  I don't for one second believe that God would want me to knowingly put my family at risk by allowing a potential terrorist into my home.  And I think that there in lies the answers I have been looking for.

You see, my gifts are not your gifts.  The way I love and work for God is not the same as your love and work for God.  That is how we were created.  If we all had the same passion as everyone else to serve God in the same capacity, then we would be living in a very one-sided body of Christ.

Just because I fear for my family and friends, I cannot stop them from nor degrade them for doing what they feel in their heart and soul that they should be doing for God- helping the refugees who may or may not be terrorists in disguise.  Just like I hope they don't mind me telling them to be careful in what they are doing because if I didn't I would not like myself at all.  That would be like a parent not telling their child to not run into the road because there may or may not be a car on it.

If I allowed that fear to control me, that would be wrong, as well.  God tells us to go out into the World and spread his light.  I can't do that in my own community-where I feel called to be a light at-if I allow my light to stay nice and cozy in my own house because I don't trust God enough to protect me from that World.

We all have a place in serving in God's Kingdom.  My prayer is that we don't look down upon our brothers and sisters who are working differently for that Kingdom than we are.

Now it's time to go out and enjoy this beautiful day with my daughter while the boys are in the woods.