Today we mourn with those who mourn. Nous avons tous le même sang quand nous saignon. We all have the same blood when we bleed.
Thank you to Spectrum for providing this opportunity to pray for and express our deepest sympathy for those persons impacted by the Friday Paris terrorism.
As an Adventist Christian I have two perspectives on this tragedy First, I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and the continuing evil of war and terror.Secondly I am reminded of the Jim Reeves song “This World Is Not My Home”.
“This world is not my home I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore”
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven’s not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore”
Mat 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
The phrase “not of this world” comes from John 18:36 where Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Earlier, Jesus had prayed, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14). This verse gives us a clue as to why we are “not of this world”—because Jesus isn’t. When we are born into the family of God, we “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4 NIV). We walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6), and He was out of step with this world’s system, to say the least. This world relies on what it can see, but we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
We have a perspective not of this world. We, like Moses, endure because we see the unseen (Hebrews 11:27
We have treasures not of this world. We seek “a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33).
We have weapons not of this world. Our enemy is spiritual, as are our weapons and tactics of battle. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
We have power not of this world. We place our trust not in our own strength or earthly might but in the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6). “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). We live with a paradox: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10) because "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
We have peace not of this world. Our peace in any situation comes straight from our Lord, the Prince of Peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). Nothing can take that away.
We have a home not of this world. “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Those who have lived and died in faith “acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). This world was not their home, nor ours.
Being “not of this world” means we have a higher, that is, a heavenly calling, We can and do sympathize with our Parisians and others who suffer “in this world” But we also have a different purpose, and destination. This world and its priorities are fading away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:17). “What counts is the new creation” (Galatians 6:15 NIV).
People who are grieving need empathy and a solid show of support…hence the tricolour on major world landmarks. I will meet with a former resident of France and put my arms around them. Let’s be of some earthly use…right here and right now. A little less abstraction and a bit more action…Rene Gale
A really tragedy. Unfortunately, its less than an average day of the tragedy in Syria that has gone on for years.
This OP confuses two meanings of “world” in the Bible. The first refers to the created home of humans, our source and our destiny. From dust we came, to dust we return. We are bound to this world by our birth, our createdness. The second sense is the meaning of “social world” that we find in occasional uses in the NT. It refers to the attitudes and actions of people who oppose God’s ways, not the stage on which we all stand.
So it is because “God so loved the world” (John 3:16) – THIS world, with its peoples, its imperfections and beauties – that our hearts break. Christ came to THIS world to save it, not to transport us off to another better location. So I am not “just passing through,” as the song suggests, like a fleeting spirit visiting from another dimension. How does this differ from sentimental escapism ?
All those images and promises in the Bible which speak of a another world, are not indicating rejection and abandonment of THIS created world but its redemption and transformation into and under the love and justice of God.
So this world IS my home. That is why our hearts break, because these horrible things are occurring in THIS world, to OUR earthly family of humanity.
We mourn with the French at this terrible tragedy, along with the peoples of Syria, Iraq, Kenya and other places where ugly and evil men have destroyed lives in the name of false gods.
Paris mai avoir la paix et la liberté , comme elle a fait la même chose pour nous pendant tant d’années .
Je suis désolée pour ton deuil, toi et ta Paris seront dans mes pensées et prières pendant ce moment.
(I am very sorry for your loss (mourning), you and Paris will be in my thoughts and prayers during this time)
If you give an opportunity to your enemy you will be the last that you can give. Because he will not give you any and your life will end …
this is just a horrible situation…between this incident and the downed russian airliner, it really looks like ISIS can strike anywhere at any time…i think hillary clinton has said it best:
http://www.france24.com/en/20151115-world-needs-unite-against-jihadists-hillary-clinton
" Le silence face du mal est le mal lui-même : Dieu ne nous tiendrai pour innocent . Sans parler est de parler . Ne pas agir est d’agir . "
~ ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
" Silence in the face of evil is itself evil : God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. "
~ ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
@Note
This is the point of the quote.
It depends how you apply this Bonhoeffer’s quote
How can we even begin to understand the mind of people who have been raised to believe in killing and exterminating people who get in the way of their goals? Nothing compares to contemplating Psalms 46:1
As we have learned since World War One.
It only takes an anonymous person or two with explosives to cause many deaths and injuries, havoc and social unrest in any society.
Religious or Sociopathic, both are the same in effect.
Question – Will 1st world democracies have to become 3rd world dictatorships?
Steve,
I support freedom of religion. But when terrorism is called a religion we have to be smart and treat it for what it is. A guerrilla group cannot be treated as a religion. Those people are shouting “freedom of religion” then using their religion to radicalize people and to plan mass killings.
If this happened in France where firearms are under extremely strict control, imagine what can happen in a country where everyone can have any weapon you can think of. I am thinking of buying a tank, just need to find a driver first…
France is right, expel all radical Imams that are inciting and recruiting people to kill. Teaching hate is not acceptable.
I would also create a law like, “whoever goes to Syria or wants to participate in any contact with ISIS or similar groups, will automatically be stripped of their citizenship, just don’t come back.”
The idea of an Islamic State is not bad. IF the rest of the world could close (literally seal) the border from the outside! Then move ALL sympathizers and supporters from around the world to that territory. In case of Islam, any person unwilling to denounce violence against the “infidels” would immediately qualify for the “residence upgrade.” Go to “your country” and enjoy the blessings of your so called religion.
The world would be a much better place if we moved in this direction…