This past Friday we were confronted with a horrific news story of at least six different terrorist attacks in the grand city of Paris, France. Some media outlets have described the attacks as “France’s 9/11.” Though the scale of the atrocity far smaller, the brutality is more intimate and equally horrifying.
Events such as these conjure up many emotions. Christians ought to respond differently than others however. And yes prayer ought to be our first response, not our last resort. Prayer is the most a Christian can do, but is certainly not the only thing.
Jesus told His apostles when sending them out on a trip to speak to all they came in contact with about the Kingdom of God. One phrase stands out in Matthew 10 and could be very appropriate today: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Followers of Jesus are fairly good at being innocent as doves, but many times being as “wise as serpents” presents a problem. We want to help, but prudence dictates we must understand the severity of the situation. In other words, we must enter the fray with our head up and eyes open.
As we witness the great influx of people from the Middle East into Europe (and soon the United States) how ought followers of Jesus respond? We respond as Jesus instructed – “As wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
The most we can do is pray, for we have a Father in heaven that knows all. He knows each and every person and each and every minute detail. We cannot reason as He does, so we question Him often, but as His children we must remember that He is faithful and can be trusted.
God reminds us in the gospel of Matthew 10:29-31; “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Mankind matters to God and nothing is beyond His control. But even more special is that you individually matter to God. He loves you with a love that is truly beyond the scope of our imagination or any human definition.
Then as followers of Jesus it is incumbent upon us to be aware of what is going on in the world and where the evil one prowls. Peter the apostle teaches us that the Devil prowls about like a roaring lion looking for something to devour. A lion behaves this way when they are old and nearly toothless. They are trying to scare away other predators so that he/she can eat; they’re beyond their prime at this point in life.
Satan is a defeated foe yet goes around creating havoc of immense proportions. And it is evidenced by what took place in Paris last Friday. Christians need to know how the enemy works and our enemy is the devil and not IS.
Christian! Know your Bible! In this way we get to know the Author and Perfector of our faith. When you get to know the Bible you get to know the Author of the greatest Book of all time. He is God and there is no other and He will not share His glory with another. Our God cannot lie and does not deceive because that is not His character.
He can be counted on to accomplish His will for His ways cannot be frustrated or stopped by men. We might not always understand His ways but they are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts.
Prayer must be our first response to the tragedy in Paris; we must know our Bible and understand that God is ultimately in control even when we cannot understand His ways. And a good second action is to understand the situation by being informed in different ways about the current state of affairs in the world. You can watch the news channels and read over events on the internet.
Al Mohler, President of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY encourages people to get their information from many different sites and not just one. As there are always two sides to story there will be different angles and views that one must take into consideration. This way we will not be deficient in our understanding but better-rounded and able to make more accurate conclusions regarding the news of our day.
To summarize, in responding to tragic events such as Paris, Christians must first pray. Second, followers of Jesus must go to the Word and understand more about God who runs this whole galactic show. Third know the situation as fully as possible before coming to any conclusions.
Thus we can be more readily “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”