For 25 years, the Lords Resistance Army has been committing terrible atrocities against innocent people in central Africa. After the LRA was driven out of northern Uganda in 2005, they have been occupying some of the most remote and isolated territory in the entire region. They are attacking communities that have virtually no way to communicate to the outside world. The cries of the victims go silent. These victims are being forced into becoming child soldiers, the women are raped when their villages are savaged, and the war keeps the restored cities from the opportunity for sustained education, a stability that they so desperately need.
Therefore, on April 25th, thousands around the world will go silent, to speak out without speaking. We donate to the cause and then raise awareness through our silence (communicating through writing and the awareness that comes from letting others know why we will be silent).
After I decided to take part in this, I discussed it with my husband. Being Easter Sunday, we talked about something that I believe is very significant. We talked about what exactly Jesus died for. As my heart was torn over the sheer evil that takes place in these communities (think: chopping off peoples limbs, forcing children to kill their own family members and then hundreds of others, literally GROOMING CHILDREN to kill), Daniel brought up a great point. He reminded me that it was these very things, the things that I view as the lowest of humanity, that Jesus took into Himself on the cross when He bore our sin. He didn’t just take in our doubt, fear, lies and unbelief (although that was part of it), He took in the hate, murder, violence, and sheer selfishness that permeates what is happening in Africa. And in the midst of it all, He chose grace. He chose to forgive. He chose to receive into Himself all the horrific darkness that humans have brought into this earth and He chose to Love. And through faith in Him, we can receive that kind of love and, what I find fascinating, is that we can learn to GIVE it as well.
And so, for me, this day of silence is for the victims. It’s for the children and the women and the communities that are destroyed through the deepest evil I can imagine. BUT it’s also for the ones who are committing these horrible acts. Because, as much as I despise their actions, I have to believe that the God I serve made the choice to love them beyond their hate. He chose to know their sin, to take it into Himself, to die for it, and through that He modeled the deepest love known to man. His unrelenting love is the only true hope for reconciliation. So, tonight and tomorrow, that is my prayer. That love truly would conquer all and the lives of the children in Africa would be spared because the hearts of the very people exploiting them would be changed— by the pure love of Christ.
“Love never fails” - 1 Cor. 13:8
