June 9, 1999
EDITORIAL:
Can good come from Kosovo?
___U.S. Christians can imitate Christ by supporting relief and resettlement efforts aimed at Albanian refugees from Kosovo.
___That may seem obvious, but its truth is lost on some Christians in America. They have oversimplified the Yugoslavian war into a conflict of good-versus-evil.
___Their reasoning goes like this: The Kosovar Albanians are Muslims. Muslims want to overpower and eliminate Christianity and therefore are evil. Consequently, any support for any Muslim is support for wiping out Christianity. This is evil.
___Make no mistake: Islam and Christianity are spiritual adversaries. Islam has locked millions of humans in a cosmic closet of darkness. Many Muslims live behind borders that are closed politically, economically, socially and culturally to the Christian gospel. Christians in those countries, aided by missionaries and Christian international businesspeople, are fighting at their own peril on the front lines of one of history's greatest spiritual battles.
___Still, we must never forget that the Muslim people themselves, whatever their nationality, are not our enemies. Satan, the great deceiver, is our enemy. He uses falsehood to confuse and subvert and destroy. The hatred and venom spewed by Christian-hating, Western-baiting ayatollahs are his state-of-the-art tools. Unfortunately, so are hatred, venom and self-righteousness spewed by Muslim-hating Christians.
___When someone asked Jesus a question about loving others, he described a situation that could parallel an event on the Christian/Islamic fault line today. Hoodlums robbed and beat a Jew who traveled alone. He lay near death on the side of the road, and two of his fellow-believers passed by, refusing to get involved. Finally, a Samaritan--someone who theoretically could have been this man's mortal enemy--stopped and rendered aid. The Samaritan saved the Jew's life and provided for his recovery. Jesus said we should be like that good Samaritan, caring for the good of strangers without counting the cost to ourselves.
___One might imagine Jesus could have told the story differently. The victim could have been a heathen Samaritan. The hero could have been a good Jew, who stopped, converted the beaten man to faith in God, bound up his wounds and took him to the nearest house of worship. But that's not the way it was. Jesus clearly indicated the priority is simple: Show love. Express compassion. Do what needs to be done. Now.
___U.S. Christians have a wonderful opportunity to be good Samaritans in these dark days of atrocity and conflict. We can reach out to all the victims of the Yugoslavian conflagration. Here are some steps:
___Resettle refugees. Your church can sponsor or co-sponsor Kosovar refugees who are coming to America. Churches are needed urgently to help the first wave of 20,000 Kosovar Albanians, reported Richard Robinson, immigration ministries specialist for the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. Churches are asked to provide basic care to tide the refugee families until public assistance begins.
___To volunteer, contact the mission board's immigration office by calling (770) 410-6343 or e-mailing rrobinson@namb.net.
___You can send financial support to Refugee Resettlement, NAMB, 4200 North Point Pkwy., Alpharetta, Ga. 30022.
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___You can support these efforts by sending funds for Kosovo relief to Texas Baptist Men, 333 N. Washington, Dallas 75246.
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___These three efforts not only deal with the real-life issues of catastrophe, but they also provide Christians with an opportunity to testify to the transforming, saving power of Christ. May the darkness of these days yield to a dawn of spiritual light.
___ --Marv Knox
Email the editor at marvknox@flash.net.
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