A LESSON FROM RWANDA

Once again man's inhumanity to his fellow man rears it's ugly head in a nation which we did not even know about just a few short weeks ago. Once again an ethnic difference is used as an excuse to shed the blood of innocent men, women and children, as over 100,000 have been slaughtered in just a few days.

Once again a sense of helplessness pervades the mightiest country that has ever existed, as we recognize that our might is useless to influence a people who are determined to kill one another. Once again we can do little other than provide assistance to the refugees.

Christians have a genuine love for all mankind regardless of race or color (Lk. 10: 25-37). We cannot help but react with a sense of aggravated frustration as we see the shedding of innocent blood (Prov. 6: 17).

In our difficulty to understand how people can be so bloodthirsty, let us recognize this: The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only religion which teaches that "there can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for we are all one man in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3: 28).

All false religions impose and create hatred and animosity between races (and other ethnic classifications), economic classes, and genders. In fact, denominational perversions of the gospel often do the same thing, as evidenced by the religious roots of many radical racist groups.

As the bible has less and less influence in our society, we can expect more animosity between the various subsets of our population: black and white, rich and poor, male and female, and whatever other differences men might dream up (e.g., gangs). The line between hatred and murder is a very easy one for men to cross, especially when all sense of law and order breaks down.

As Christians we need to recognize just how important it is to do every scriptural thing in our power to preach and promote the gospel. It is the world's only hope!