National Unity Day

Today is National Unity Day in Zimbabwe, three days after Robert Mugabe's declaration that "Zimbabwe is mine" and that no nation would dare topple him. I am increasingly disturbed by the state of the nations in Africa. More and more there are stories of untold genocides still be discovered, bodies being unearthed, children dying from AIDS, war, famine, and disease.

I remember when I was six I was in the van with my father and we were listening to NPR and there was a report of the atrocities that were happening in Bosnia during the war in 1992. I can remember the look on his face when the reporter stated that women were being held, raped and forced to drink their own urine by Serb forces. IT was a dark face; it wasn't necessarily anger, but more of what I think was a battle face. A face that said "we cannot stand idly by, SOMETHING must be done." That is how I feel every time I hear a report coming out of Africa. Something must be done.

I don't have the answers or the solutions - I'm not sure there is an answer other than Jesus Christ. While He is the hope for the future, for those nations and all people, we His hands and His feet must do something now. We talk and place sanctions, but there must be more we can do. We must pray and pray earnestly for peace; we must give what we are able to give (money, time, etc) in order to be His presence in the world. That is something we can never forget.

In remembrance is redemption.