The Sacrificial Heart of Shlomo Ron
This is Shlomo Ron. When Hamas terrorists invaded his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, this 85-year-old frail man had a plan. He left his wife, daughters and grandson in the shelter, and went to sit in his living room, waiting for his death. He figured that when terrorists break in they will see him, execute the lonely old man, and move on. He was right. He’s a hero who sacrificed himself for the people he loves. May be [sic] rest in peace.
Two things are particulary impressive about the actions of Shlomo in the face of grave terror ...
1) He had a plan! He had not waited till the 11th hour to decide how he would respond when the moment came for him to take action.
2) His plan was to protect and "save" those whom he loves.
THIS is what sacrificial love looks like.
Run the Race
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s sports minister publicly apologized Wednesday and ordered that the chairwoman of the national track and field federation be suspended after a seemingly untrained female sprinter represented the African country at the World University Games in China and took more than 20 seconds to finish a 100-meter race.
The minister reported that they did not know how the woman, 20-year-old Nasra Abukar Ali, was selected to compete in the women’s 100 at the student games in Chengd. She very quickly fell behind, and finished more than 10 seconds behind the winner (in a 100 meter race, that is an eternity!).
Some charged nepotism, some charged incompetence, but all cried foul, claiming the perfomrance posed a serious embarrassment to all serious Somali athletes, as well as being damaging to Somalia’s reputation on the world stage at large.
Video of the race was shared in a tweet criticizing Ali’s participation, and calling for the head of Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports to immediately step down. The video has since gone viral, with nearly 70 million views to date.
Scripture likens the Christian life to running a race, and in doing so cautions that we should not take our participation in that race lightly, but rather train and discipline ourselves to perform well.
That said, some of us will train harder than others, some will quit the race, but yet others will finally limp across the finish line, albeit well behind the rest of the pack.
Ali was not prepared for the race she had entered, but to her credit, she did finish the race. Perhaps it is her goal to keep running, keep training, improving her fitness and her time. Or, perhaps she entered the race with no other motive than to mock the process. We can’t know.
What we can know, though, is for those of us sincerely called by God into the Christian life, we are called to “run with endurance, the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, ESV).
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. Do your best to come to me soon” (2 Timothy 4:7-9, ESV).
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24, ESV).
Surviving The Jungle
A Cessna 206 was carrying seven people between district airports in Columbia, South America when it crashed in the early morning hours of May 1st, 2023. On board were the pilot, co-pilot, and a mother with her four children. Tragically, the adults died after the impact. However, the four children survived this crash, though they were not found until 40 days later!
Patrick Smith of ABC news reports:
Lost and by themselves, four children managed to survive 40 days in the wilderness of the Amazon jungle before they were rescued. The four children — Lesly, 13; Soleiny, 9; Tien Noriel, 4; and Cristin, 1 — were found thin but very much alive Friday after a rescue operation that combed through more than 1,600 miles of dense forest."
How did they do it?
Their grandmother, who raised them, taught them how to fish, hunt, and find safe food in the wild. They knew which fruits and seeds were safe to eat in the rainforests and which were poisonous. Thanks to two rescue dogs, Tellius and Wilson, leading 150 soldiers, the children were found, dehydrated, full of mosquito bites, but, as ABC News reports, "very much alive!"
How often we speak figuratively, saying, “It’s a jungle out there!” Our world, like the Colombian Jungle, is a dangerous place.
This is not just true for adults, but it is especially challenging for society’s youngest members. Think of the obstacles and challenges faced by our youth right now, the messages and indoctrination so contrary to Scripture, the diversions and distractions pulling them away from faith. How can they survive this metaphorical jungle?
Their path to survival is the same as it was for those fortunate little ones in Columbia. First, survival skills must be taught in the home. This implies much time, effort, patience, and hands-on training. Second, those skills must be practiced. Third, survival must continue until rescue and relief comes.
Do we have homes that equip our children to make it through the difficult spiritual terrain? This equipping centers around filling their hearts with God’s thoughts (Deut. 6:4-6). It centers around practical outlets to put that information into motion (Phil. 4:9). By the time they are out on their own, they should have the training they need to make it on their own (Prov. 22:6). We should teach them to “hold on” until rescue and relief comes (2 Thess. 1:6-7).
It’s hard to imagine something worse than a plane crash befalling our children or grandchildren, but there is! There’s a shipwreck of faith (1 Tim. 1:19), upset of faith (2 Tim. 2:18), going astray of faith (1 Tim. 6:21). These are all synonymous for failure to survive that spiritual jungle!
Let’s put in the necessary time to train, equip, and prepare our families to make it through this world spiritually alive!