Who can rescue this?

Last week when everyone’s heads were turned toward Paris, there was another terrorist attack in a town called Baga in Nigeria.  This time it was aimed against Christians.  And this time a group of motorbike riding terrorists killed “hundreds…too many to count,” says a Guardian article.

Actually, their number was countable.  About 2,000.

The article goes on to say that most victims were women, children, and elderly.  Because they were not fast enough to escape the murderers with engines between their legs.

Where does relief from something like this come from?

The first decades of Christianity started like this.  In the New Testament the book of Acts tells this story.

Most of the New Testament writers…Peter, James, Paul, were hunted down and killed.  One account says it is as if the world was being turned up side down.

But what social revolution where they pushing?

Freedom from endless guilt and a good, honest life.  That’s what they were pushing.

If turning the world upside means preaching those things.  Then I’m okay with that.

In a world where people are chased down like cattle, then let it be turned upside down.

Those early followers of Christ died because of something they knew.  The thousands, perhaps millions, who live today in Muslim countries—so many of which often die for that choice—know something, too.

They know that the healing power of Jesus goes way beyond the torments of this world.  They know that bad in this world will one day be set right.