The look of desperation in the faces of adult refugees, of fear and sadness in the faces of their children, revealing the weight of their concern, and their nearly unbearable levels of stress from worrying about what would become of their lives now that they have fled their homes in Syria, a country where they had lived with relative peace and stability under the rule of President Assad, will be one of many images those in power who advocated for and facilitated a regime change in Syria will face before their final judgment. Will they be forgiven so they can enjoy an eternity of bliss in Heaven alongside these and other similarly situated refugees, young, middle-aged and old whose lives they have directly or indirectly terminated, both literally and figuratively? Based on what will they be forgiven? God's unconditional love for their arrogance, their zeal for power, their ignorance, their so-called self-righteousness? Can God forgive anyone who uses or abuses his life to do the work of Satan who feels no remorse, who does not ask his neighbors (all those who are suffering because of his decisions and actions and/or inactions) and Christ (for torturing Him again) for forgiveness? And all a sitting president thinks he can do to remediate his prior wrongs is to drop more bombs, kill more people, create more refugees and torture Christ more and longer? How many more leaders of this kind will people elect and re-elect? How many more people who aspire to having a seat at the pinnacles of power are slaves of Satan? Are all political aspirants (defined broadly and inclusive of those in the hierarchy of each and every religious organization) slaves of Satan? I can only shudder at the thought.
My advice to those who are in any way responsible for this unfolding human tragedy is to repent, and seek forgiveness from over a million refugees [2] by allaying their fears and anxieties, and by offering them safety, a place and resources to rebuild their lives, not by further aggression fueled by blind arrogance, thereby reinvigorating the cycle of vengeance, resulting in more suffering, more deaths and more destruction.
Seeking forgiveness and repentance are not likely going to happen any time soon, at least not according to my expectations. Meanwhile, I urge all to pray for those who are suffering, and for those among us who are weak against the temptations of Satan, especially those in positions of power who reject or merely pay lip-service to God and care less about the lessons of Jesus and the meaning of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross of salvation so that they may wake up quickly from their Satanic spell, repent and follow God.
[1] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/1409021-syria--turkey-refugees-islamic-state-pictures-photography/
[2] "Turkey has received more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which erupted in spring 2011 and quickly morphed into a vicious civil war that spawned multiple extremist groups, including the Islamic State." Ibid.
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