This past year I spent 15 days in Nigeria, the majority of those days in Jos and to think of it now as a war zone is hard to imagine. It is hard to think of my friends there having to worry about their very lives, it is hard to think of our missionary families having to leave the city for their own safety and it is hard to come to terms with any good that could come of this.
While we can agree that violence of this magnitude is indeed senseless, the one thing that I have been reminded of in the past days is that in the midst of this violence, God is still there and the love of His son Jesus is being shown through his people. This was never more apparent then the e-mail I received from Jos that told this story:
On Friday the riots started near our center for older boys called Transition House. By mid morning the young men and teen boys in the area were in a hate frenzy and going to the houses of those from the other religion and burning them down. They also were beating the people. Many of these people from the other religion came to the gate of TH seeking help. Our boys and staff let them in and gave a place of safety. They even dragged some of the people left for dead into the gate and then helped them with their wounds. When the other boys of their age and religion were given into fear and catching the harmful 'mob' mentality, our boys were helping the very ones others were hurting. Our staff and boys were the hands and face of Christ as they reached out over the divide and helped those in great need. We are so proud of these young men. They are the true heroes in this mess.
A mess indeed, but somehow
through the carnage
through the chaos
through the hell
heaven is being brought to earth by boys, who are the face of Jesus. May we bear the same likeness of our Nigerian brothers and of our Jesus.
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