The Good Shepherd Never Lost A Sheep

 

The Good Shepherd Never Lost A Sheep  With concrete barricades, walls made of oil barrels and armed guards standing sentry, it looks like a normal border crossing in the Middle East. But what was once a busy crossing between Lebanon and Syria, today, it stands quiet. Only now and then a car or a bus passes. On one side of the border, President Assad’s army is lashing out against everyone opposed to him. On the other side, rebel fighters gather in preparation to retaliate against the oppression. Christians are stuck in the middle between the fighting factions. Marcus from Al Qamishli once had a house and owned a business. “There were bomb attacks in our city, but the most important reason to leave was that life was impossible. We had no water, no electricity, no telephone, nothing. The risk of being kidnapped dominated our decision to leave. I was afraid that my 15-year-old daughter would be kidnapped. I brought her to school and stayed waiting till the lessons were over and took her home again.” Living in the peaceful ambiance of a monastery over the border in Turkey, more than 40 Christian families, including Marcus and his wife and children, have found refuge. Hoping for a visa to travel to France, he assures that it is “only temporary. I hope to return to Syria when there is peace again.” But Marcus is worried about his children. “We were building our lives and then, all at a sudden, everything turned upside down. They are depressed.” Wiping a tear from his cheek he adds, “We pray every day to God that He will save Syria from ruination. We pray for peace. We trust that through prayer things can change, that things will get better in Syria.”  One With Them Wars destroy and uproot so many lives. The war in Syrian is more than two years old and the number killed, the number internally displaced, and the number of refugees is staggering. It’s easy to wonder if God is still in control. Rest assured that He is. Be One With Them, with Syrian Christians, whom Jesus the Good Shepherd has claimed as the sheep of His pasture. His flock in Syria has been scattered but He promises to never lose a single one of us; pray with them that they might one day be able to follow the voice of the Shepherd back to Syria.      2013.07.20

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)