My husband and I watch news programs that regularly report on news happening in Israel. Every week the stories are thematic in the fact that there is usually some country threatening to destroy Israel. One might ask, “so what’s new about that,” as it seems that since the inception of this tiny country, Israel has amassed too many enemies to count.
I suggested to my husband a brilliant plan to end the constant threats against Israel.
“You know,” I recently said, “… if everyone who wants to attack Israel would read the Bible, they would realize that all of their aggression is pointless. They CANNOT destroy Israel.”
It seems like a logical solution to me because I’ve read the Bible. According to the Word, God will always protect Israel. Genesis 12:3 states that the Lord will bless those who bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel. Bible history is filled with God’s promises to bless Israel as well as details of the many times He protected them from what appeared to be certain destruction.
If more people would read the Bible, relationships could be mended simply by doing what the Bible suggests. The Golden Rule found in Matthew 7:12 could stop wars, mend fences, eliminate lawsuits – you name it. This Scripture is life-changing wisdom: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
What if everyone lived Matthew 22:37-39? Think of the possibilities.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (NLT)
Dionne Warwick recorded the song What the World Needs Now in 1965. The song suggested that love is – the only thing that there’s just too little of. (Lyrics by Hal David; music composed by Burt Bacharach). The song was a great precursor to the explosion of the Jesus movement in the late 1960s; a phenomenon that was recently made into a newly released movie, Jesus Revolution.
I saw this movie and highly recommend it. The movie tells the story and history of Pastors Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie and evangelist Lonnie Frisbee. The film recounted the beginning of a great move of Christ in the late 60s/early 70s that converted thousands of hippies into “Jesus Freaks.”
I walked away from the movie thinking our world could use a fresh wave of Jesus freaks. What the world really needs right now is a whole lot more love and … Kindness. Compassion. Understanding. Charity. Empathy and peace, just to name a few. I am of the opinion, if everyone in the world who is a Christ follower read the Bible and actually lived the commands like loving their neighbor every single day – kindness and goodness and all the rest – would naturally fall into place.
What the world needs now is … some Jesus freaks, Bible geeks and maybe a generation of hippies or young people who are hungry for a revolution of change and the love of Christ.
Blessings in Christ, Kathy K. ~
