Stand Up or Stand By

I just finished watching Hotel Rwanda. If you've never seen it, you should. It is not overly graphic and does not give you the big picture of the horror, but still the visual makes a stronger connection with your emotions than what you may have read or heard. I doubt many in the West have read much about the genocide, and those in my generation are too young to remember or perhaps never even knew that such a thing happened. I did not know much about it until I came here to Rwanda and started reading some books that tell stories of survival. I just wonder how our country, along with many others, could stand by and watch such atrocities take place. But then how many people even knew the truth of what was happening? I want to blame the outside world for not being quick enough to stop it, and yet I cannot be the judge. What could ordinary citizens have done? Our governments did not send in armies to stop the killing. Could a few people taking a stand have made a difference? Maybe some did stand up and speak out, maybe some petitioned our leaders to do something. I do not know. I cannot be the judge of people's hearts, especially when I had no knowledge of it at the time. It just breaks your heart to see in the movie when all the internationals were pulling out of Rwanda and the feeling of hopelessness for the people who were left with almost no one to defend them. To feel the callousness or perhaps the ignorance of American and European governments, that these people being slaughtered were not worth saving. Now maybe that's not the whole picture. And I've heard that the story of Hotel Rwanda is not completely accurate from the people's viewpoint. They say the man who saved all these people was doing it for money, not out of true compassion. I think we may never see the whole picture. We have to believe that God does and He is still good. History carries many other examples of such evil. Look at the Holocaust. How many German citizens and people of other nations simply stood by and ignored what was happening? But how many stories are there, told and untold, of brave people who risked speaking out or reaching out to those being hunted to save them from death? I keep asking myself: what would I have done? What would I do now if such a thing were to happen somewhere? What about the wars, death, and suffering that is going on all over the world? Has it even affected me? Does it break my heart? What am I doing? What does God want me to do? NO, I cannot save the world. I cannot feed every hungry child. I cannot care for every orphan. I cannot help every disadvantaged person find a better life. I cannot stop wars, disease, famine. I cannot lead every lost soul to Christ. But I can make a difference to ONE. I'm sure you've heard the story of the starfish on the beach, and the little boy who was throwing them back in the ocean. You and I can start with one. And our God is a multiplier. Think loaves and fishes. We may think we have nothing to give. All He asks is that we give ourselves. Jesus Christ in you and in me will do the rest. Debby was sharing with me today that her heart wants to help everyone, and yet she's learned through her years on the mission field that giving handouts may make you feel good, but it's not what people really need. If they can concentrate on helping a small group of people, individuals here and there, concentrating resources to really help these people get on their feet, it will make a lasting change for them and hopefully they will be able to go on and help others. It is hard to keep your focus on a select group when there is a myriad of need all around you, but the body of Christ is made up of many, many individuals. If each one of us reaches out to someone else and it is passed on and on down the line, we can reach the world. All it takes is love. God's love. We must lose ourselves to His love. We must ask Him to transform us with his love, for if I have not love, I am nothing. Without love I cannot even find it in my heart to reach one. But when Love comes, He casts out fear and endures forever. If you are wondering what you could ever do to change the world or even leave one corner brighter, I would encourage you to pray along with me and ask God to give you His heart and then use you to make a difference to just one person. Let's ask and see what He will do. Perhaps this is the very best way that we can stand up and fight for life. For it is only in real love that we have the power to lay down our lives for another. May it be so.