Choosing Love in the Midst of Evil and Violence

If God is good, why isn’t he intervening to bring peace and healing? People have wrestled with questions like this over the centuries.

While we won’t be able to untangle all the deep mysteries about God and evil in this short devotional, the ministry of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk provides us some insights into the source of earthly suffering and the solution that God provides through his people.

Habakkuk was a prophet to the tiny nation of Judah during the closing moments of its survival. His home was surrounded by enemies, some less than a day’s walk away. His own nation had strayed from God, worshipping the idols of surrounding nations and sacrificing their children to them. The discovery of the Book of the Law during the reign of King Josiah caused great fear and mourning as the people of Judah realized the extent of their disobedience.

Habakkuk challenged God about the evil and violence he saw in his nation:
“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” – Habakkuk 1:2-4

The Hebrew word תָּפ֣וּג (tapug or “paralyzed”) used to describe what had happened to the law in Habakkuk 1:4 means to have grown cold or become numb. When the law is unable to do its work, injustice, wrongdoing, destruction, violence, strife, and conflict abound.

Jesus used similar words to describe the last days before his return. Love, which fulfills the law (Romans 13:18-10), would grow cold:
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” – Matthew 24:12-13

How does love become numb? It happens gradually over time. Imagine you move to a new home and want to meet your neighbors. Maybe you take a home baked cake and knock on their door. They open it, scowl at you, and slam the door. How would you feel? Confused and rejected? Would you risk being hurt again? Or would you build a protective barrier around yourself and choose not to put yourself in that situation again? That protective barrier desensitizes a part of your heart. It becomes numb.

So, what’s the alternative? Even in the darkest circumstances, we can choose to continue showing love. The light shines brighter in the darkness.

Corrie Ten Boom and her family chose love during the dark days of the Second World War. They helped many Jewish people by hiding them behind a false wall in Corrie’s bedroom. Eventually Corrie’s family was betrayed and sent to a concentration camp in Germany. Even there, Corrie and her sister Bettie continued to love:

“Do you know what hurts so very much? It’s love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill that love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies, too. Or we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel.” – Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place

Amid all the angry Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, a friend of mine was convicted when the Holy Spirit asked her, “What is your plan to love your enemy?” She pondered that question, and began praying for others like her who admitted they didn’t have such a plan.

While the evils of the Second World War and the violent conflicts in the world today might seem far removed from our peaceful homes, your “enemy” could be anyone that fills you with anger or fear.

Does anyone come to mind? What is your plan to love them? How can we keep our love from growing cold?

By Wendy Halloun, Creative Communications Officer MENA, Biblica.

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