What to Do after Paris

Years ago, on a layover in Switzerland, our family took a trolley up a mountain and walked around in France for awhile. It was a bit like unexpectedly landing in the opening scene of "The Sound of Music" where Maria is spreading her arms, dancing and belting out, "The hills are alive with the sound of music." I loved it! But other than that one short visit on a mountain and despite our many traveling adventures, the rest of France has remained illusive. 

Image public domain

Like most of the Western world, I have wished to one day visit Paris. But last week when militant Islamists slaughtered a group of cartoonists, I was very thankful I wasn't there. Yet even though I was far away from France, as the stories and images poured out through all manner of media sources, I was tempted to feel afraid and helpless. 

Thankfully God reminded me of Bible truths. 1 John 4:18 says that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." 

To be brutally honest, I am no more capable of perfect love than flying to the moon. And I readily admit that includes perfectly loving my family and friends. It is only God's love in me that can make such a command something that can be obeyed. And it is not then me, but His Holy Spirit that is doing the perfect loving. "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:5.

As with everything else, God is very practical. He does not ask me to feel some warm fuzzy for a people group of whom I know no one. He asks me to love in a 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 style those whom He has placed in my life. 

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

And this includes the people of whom I could be suspicious after Paris. After all, biblically I know there are no coincides in my life. The very fact that I have relationships with Muslims shows me that God wants to use me in their lives to demonstrate His great love and unlimited grace. I must continue showing love in my present relationships as well as loving those I newly meet and get to know on the street, at a check-out counter, or at a place of business. 

Three ways to love:

1. Love with my eyes. When I see a woman in the burka, I need to look her straight in the eyes and say hello. I need to smile a smile that shows no reserve. She is a person. Just a person. When I see a Muslim man,  I must treat him with appropriate friendliness.

2. Love with my hands. If there are Muslims in my life, it is God's will for me to love them with my hands. I need to do practical things that show I care. I have much in common with my Muslim friends. We all eat, sleep, care for children, go to stores, enjoy music and sports, etc. To act otherwise is to miss precious opportunities.

3. Love with my mouth. Nothing displays the love of Christ more than clear, open, loving conversation. God has given my family many opportunities to invite Muslims into our home and into our lives. As with all relationships, it takes time and effort to reach out. But it is time well spent. And even while we hope they come to know Christ and His love one day, our relationships are not dependent on them becoming Christians. 

A power greater than mine—God's power—is available to me for doing the work of loving others. It is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but in the end it is glorious. And it destroys fear at its source. Satan.

Our son with friends on our porch in Liberia