God in Colombian Politcs
Dear friends,
Here are some reflections from some conversations with some Colombian friends:
People are not black and white the way the world, the movies, and our culture have been telling us. It’s a lie we unconsciously often assume is true. There is good (God created us all and He said it was good) and bad in every one of us. Getting rid of Bin Laden will not make us safer or more secure. Right at the announcement of his death, I thought to myself: “this will only create and raise up even more terrorists.”
Obama announced that we need to be on the alert for a reprisal, so we live in even more fear. As the Bible says, overcome evil with good, not hate or evil, and that is the only thing that works.
An example of this is when President Santos of Colombia, in the week after the election and to the surprise of everyone, met with Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez to mend the rift that the former Colombian president Uribe had made. This rift inhibited ongoing business between people on both sides of the border. This action relieved much suffering of those people. As President, Uribe seemed to encourage the conflict between Colombia and Venezuela, as well as Ecuador. Recently, President Santos also met with Ecuador’s President Correa, mending their relationship.
Another thing president Santos did recently was to recognize that there is a war going on, not just random violence. This will give a lot of government help to the many innocent people caught between the firefights of the armed groups. Until now they were not recognized, and therefore were unable to get medical help.
Santos is also making some efforts to enable farmers to get back their land after being pushed off by the armed groups. It seems the Lord is doing some good things that are reducing the violence and preparing for the peace and justice that God is bringing to Colombia.
God's plan is for us to be a part of bringing peace and justice. God needs our help. It is beautiful the way we can participate in this great activity. You are doing it when you pray.
Peace, Jim
Here are some of the members of the Mennonite church in Choco, where I shared.
CIMG1918.jpg
Dear friends,
Here are some reflections from some conversations with some Colombian friends:
People are not black and white the way the world, the movies, and our culture have been telling us. It’s a lie we unconsciously often assume is true. There is good (God created us all and He said it was good) and bad in every one of us. Getting rid of Bin Laden will not make us safer or more secure. Right at the announcement of his death, I thought to myself: “this will only create and raise up even more terrorists.”
Obama announced that we need to be on the alert for a reprisal, so we live in even more fear. As the Bible says, overcome evil with good, not hate or evil, and that is the only thing that works.
An example of this is when President Santos of Colombia, in the week after the election and to the surprise of everyone, met with Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez to mend the rift that the former Colombian president Uribe had made. This rift inhibited ongoing business between people on both sides of the border. This action relieved much suffering of those people. As President, Uribe seemed to encourage the conflict between Colombia and Venezuela, as well as Ecuador. Recently, President Santos also met with Ecuador’s President Correa, mending their relationship.
Another thing president Santos did recently was to recognize that there is a war going on, not just random violence. This will give a lot of government help to the many innocent people caught between the firefights of the armed groups. Until now they were not recognized, and therefore were unable to get medical help.
Santos is also making some efforts to enable farmers to get back their land after being pushed off by the armed groups. It seems the Lord is doing some good things that are reducing the violence and preparing for the peace and justice that God is bringing to Colombia.
God's plan is for us to be a part of bringing peace and justice. God needs our help. It is beautiful the way we can participate in this great activity. You are doing it when you pray.
Peace, Jim
Here are some of the members of the Mennonite church in Choco, where I shared.
CIMG1918.jpg
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