|
A little more than a generation or two ago, the world seemed much bigger than it does today. News and images of what was happening in far off places took days and sometimes weeks, to reach us. Newspapers were our primary sources of information, with occasional timely reports on the radio or on the evening news from the three major networks. Hurricanes, earthquakes and wars, political events, famines or floods, did not have the immediate impact then that they do today because they seemed so far away.
Today, we receive live media streaming on our televisions, computers, smart phones, and even our wrist devices. We get live coverage of the aftermath of hurricane Matthew as it devastates Haiti, images of bleeding children whose parents' have been killed in Aleppo, Syria, the aftermath images of missile exchanges between Israel and Palestine, a Tsunami hitting the coast of Japan and the melt down of a nuclear reactor. We see timely images of devastating floods in New Orleans, oil covering the coastline and wildlife from a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Boston Marathon bombing, and raging fires and the charred remains of countless homes burned to the ground in California.
There was a time that danger and tragedy seemed much farther away than it does today. It seems we are forced to come to the realization that the world seems to be a much more fragile place today than it once was. It is easy to understand why it might seem overwhelming and leave us feeling fearful, depressed and powerless. While it might be tempting to try and withdraw, to isolate ourselves as a nation, to grow weary worrying, and to become numb to the heartache and tragedy facing our neighbors in far off places and lands, we need to be careful we do not lose perspective.
We need to become aware that for every tragic event there are heroes and heroines, people who rise to the occasion, selfless people who roll up their sleeves, console their neighbor, sacrifice themselves out of love and compassion for others. The volunteers who cleaned the shore birds along the Gulf coast, the medical professional and caregivers who nursed the injured after the marathon bombing, the countless volunteer church groups that helped to rebuild New Orleans, the doctors without borders medical professionals who respond to need around the world, are all inspiring examples of the best of us.
Humanity has great resilience, a determination to overcome adversity, to heal and mend, to rebuild and restore, and to begin again in the aftermath of great loss. While the media streams the news and images of death, destruction and tragedy, it does not offer us a complete picture, for it often leaves out the news and images of recovery, self-sacrifice, the faces of heroes and heroines who help to heal the world's brokenness.
In God's Grace,
Pastor Larry
|
