It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2
Tears do not equate sincerity, but can. This time they were the only response I could utter. My heart was overwhelmed. My heart was grieved. But through the tears, like a wave it washed away distractions to bring clarity. Clarity to reality, to the past and to the present. Therefore, I admittedly do not write as an expert on the issues, but as one who has just seen them. This is what flooded my mind in the moment.
Yad Vashem is the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The careful thoughts behind every little detail in its construction and displays were phenomenally portrayed. The symbolism and sincerity of its message is clear and riveting. Walking through its halls one must follow the chronological progression of time, not being able to skip ahead through exhibits but encouraging visitors to walk alongside the Jews with their stories. The solemn journey culminates with a beautiful panorama of Jerusalem - a reminder of the bright hope and resilience of the nation. The walk is heart-wrenching but necessary. Though sobering, it is good to reflect on.
The methods of the Holocaust started, and I speak very generally, with grievous ideology masked in deception. Despite many other's opinions, I cannot remove religion from the discussion for the pivotal role it plays in history. If one takes the time to look closely and deeply, Marxism and atheism were foundational to the tragedy that still affects lives. Through the education system, propaganda, signs, radio, youth rallies, a whole generation became convinced or scared of the inhumanity or "sub-humanness" of an entire group of people enough to commit inhumane atrocities that were either proposed as necessary or acceptable in society. The target: the Jews. It was overwhelming how devastating the manifestations of evil and sin were and how deep-seated and lasting its affects still are.
During the Second World War, many nations did not know or see the death and reality or magnitude of destruction being brought upon the Jews until afterwards. Likewise, the majority of us are also removed from the immediate effects and faces of death. Yet, one in three women will have had at least one abortion by the age of forty-five, and silently suffer with their own grief. In a more visible reality, hundreds of children grow up running to bomb shelters when they hear a rocket.
World War II has become a topic and chapter in our history books, but for the Jews it is the stories of their parents around the dinner table - the stories they hold on to of their families' survival. For us it is far removed victory that ended with names and places you only memorized for a test at some point in school, but for these people it meant the displacement of their lives, the loss of life, perhaps even the changing of their name.
The Middle East conflicts have become routine, more news articles, no major changes, viral threads on social media at times, impacting those who serve in the Armed Forces but not our everyday lives. For others the conflict means running to a bomb shelter while playing soccer or swimming, fearing 10 rockets a day, teaching your preschooler how to run to shelter on the playground, living knowing that 150,000 missiles are aimed at their country. For us, safety is perhaps a concern when we travel, but for others it is a way of life, a constant thought in mind, a daily calculation.
Religion cannot be removed from the equation. Worldviews cannot be ignored. Tolerance of sin will be the death of society. Lies would not be deceiving if they presenting the cause and effect, or the ugly conclusions of their implementation. When will we no longer be desensitized and callus? What you believe is important. Understanding how the world's agenda impacts you or its attempt to persuade you is vital. We must go back to God's Word and understand the value He places on mankind and His principles for our lives. We are not free from morals, but rather bound to their consequences.
We do not have to live in despair, for Christ has already overcome death and the world (Jn 16:33). He has already claimed victory and sin will not reign forever! While we grieve the presence of the Prince of this world seeking to destroy (Jn 12:31, 1 Peter 5:8), we rejoice and have hope because Truth will prevail. We must walk alongside those who are hurting, be voices for those who cannot speak, stand up for truth, and protect the helpless. In an expression of love, are we reaching out? We cannot walk blindly nor cover our eyes any longer.
These are the truths of evil. The truth is hard, but the truth is real and cannot afford to be ignored.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began…
John 17:14-19
I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is Truth. As you sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in Truth.
John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me {Christ} because I testify about it that its works are evil
John 15:17-21
These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.