By Mike Aleman | FāVS News Columnist
Many people worldwide, Christians and non-Christians alike, have prayed for the end of the war in Gaza and for the release of prisoners. We can now be thankful for the ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages. Prayers have been answered. One hundred and forty saved may not seem like much.
Yet their families have been reunited. Their prayers have been answered in the manner they have wished. In addition, a number of bodies have been returned to their families, adding another answer to prayer. It’s no small thing for families to be united in a sense, and to bury their dead ceremoniously.
Evidence suggests that the ceasefire will not hold. We need to continue our prayers for it to take place, while being thankful for the end of suffering for those released.
Skeptics and critics, however, can rightfully ask about the 64,000 Palestinians who lost their lives. How can we be thankful for the 140 when so many more have suffered and died? The families of these 64,000 dead continue to grieve. Why did the Lord save so few? An unanswerable question to be sure.
The importance of the 140 saved is a gift, a blessing in the midst of death. When a highway collision takes three lives out of four, we are thankful for the one.
When one in hospital surgery survives and three do not, we must be thankful for the one. When that one is you, or one of yours, you are thankful.
Even though not many, if any, of the dead in Gaza were Christians, the Lord has taken them up and embraced them. They no longer suffer, nor do they grieve, but are reunited with him and those spirits who have ascended before them.
Every day according to organizations that keep the tally, 150,000 to 160,000 people die worldwide. They are welcomed into their spiritual afterlife forever. They no longer suffer. They no longer cause suffering. They are made whole.
It may sound Pollyanna-ish, but it isn’t. They have lived their lives on this Earth and are now free of the bonds and bounds of the mortal, a state we pray for ourselves one day, and for which we can be thankful.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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