Paraphrasing Judges, chapter 19:25-30 a horrifying story develops as a man gives his concubine to a group of men that rape and abuse her through the night. Knocking at the man's door the next morning she collapses. The man in horror finds her body in a clump. He dismembers her body and sends 12 pieces to the 12 tribes of Israel. He says to the messengers in the last verse, 'Say to every man in Israel: 'Has such a thing as this ever happened from the time the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until now? Think about it! Talk it over. Do something!'" MSG
Last night, I watched the movie, "Brothers," and afterward I felt deep sadness for what our troops face in war zones and how they deal with it when they return home. I thought the movie was going to be about a love triangle, and in a way it was, but not in a romantic kind of way. The human spirit is always in jeopardy of being crushed because of the evil that exists in this world. It left me with this lingering question, "How does one go on when the pain of the past haunts the present?"
When I woke up this morning, I still felt an uneasy feeling about the movie last night, and for whatever reason Judges 19 popped up when I was seeking guidance on another Biblical reference. I was sickened by the story, but tried to focus on the lesson of the scripture. God has a way of weaving lessons into our lives. First the movie and then the scripture that both seemed dark and left me feeling challenged to find ways to deal with the fact that every day people have to move on when life changing events forever change them from the outside in.
My first instinct was to ignore the Bible reading and move on to something that made me feel better. I'd rather not think of such horrible things. But, I felt God had purpose for placing this on my heart. I thought it interesting that the man could have just buried her body and tried to move on, but instead he moved forward trying to make a point that this is unacceptable. His next words were inspiring. "Think about it! Talk it over. Do Something!" In other words, don't sweep this sinful ugliness under the rug, but instead come to the realization of what is happening and do something to make sure it doesn't happen again. It was a strong message to wake up!
The movie last night and the Bible story reflect the dark sin of what is happening in our world. God has asked us to be His light in even the darkest corners and to have eyes to recognize where the dark corners exist. Often we would like to move on and not talk about these things because maybe if we ignore them, they will go away. But, in reality, if we as Christians ignore the darkness, we become part of the darkness because we aren't shining God's Light.
"How does one go on when the pain of the past haunts the present?" In most of our lives, there are dark and painful situations that change us and/or those around us.The truth is we need to think about it, talk about it, and as the Bible scripture said, "Do something!" Whether you send a note of support to a vet or someone who is suffering or whether you are a missionary in a country in turmoil, everyone can do something. Each of us have purpose, and we can't just ignore the painful suffering that exists. We need to shine God's Light in the darkness.
Heavenly Father,
The darkness and evil that exist can be overwhelming to the human spirit. It's like an infection that festers and causes pain. We ask you to give comfort to those that suffer especially those that suffer in silence. Help each of us to give support to those that are in need and to shine Your Light where darkness exists.
Amen
