Middle East Politics

We've stayed this week in the Palestinian controlled East Jerusalem. A street divides Jewish controlled areas from Arab ones. A wall separates the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from the rest of Israel. Rarely do you find a Jew even a block into the Arab zone and vice-versa. It just isn't done. Thankfully, as an American I felt perfectly safe. No one cares about me - their hatred and bitterness are reserved for each other.

I came to Israel a strong believer in Israel's right to exist as a safe and secure state in the promised land. That hasn't waned. It's not only biblical, but the hand of the Lord has been visibly at work protecting and expanding Israeli land through each of the three wars. The holocaust museum presents a compelling case for the world making a place for the people whose suffering failed to move us in WWII.

I saw the poverty of the refugee camps where well over a million Palestinians have been forced to live. I watched soldiers force a humiliated and frustrated Moslim mother and her young children off a bus because something was wrong with her identity card. It doesn't take a lot of insight to understand the anger of losing land families have lived on for generations.

The problem is as complex as is the depth of the mutual hatred and mistrust. What little I have seen convinces me that man will never solve this. Not really. He may impose a lid - but when the pressure gets to great, or the hold on the lid slips, it will always blow.

Only God can solve this as He moves in hearts and changes lives. The ministry that hosted us has been raised up by the Lord to take food and the gospel to the Palestinian refugees of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and others in east Jerusalem. They gave us first hand accounts of Palestinian Muslims having dreams and visions of Jesus that lead them to Christ. One man dreamed that Jesus no longer wanted him to pray on his Muslim rug any more, but on the rug Jesus gave him. A woman dreamed of Jesus again and again closing the Koran every time she opened it, handing her a Bible to read instead.

Politics can separate and military force can intimidate. But neither can ever change the human heart. Jews and Arabs, both learning to love each other with the love of the Lord, is the only real answer this crisis will ever find.

Jerusalem

Earlier this week, I walked the Via Dolorosa. The next day, I touched the spot in the Bethlehem cave where many believe Jesus was born. Yesterday, I sat with my feet in Elijah's Springs, within 100 yards of the ruins of the ancient walls of Jericho. Today, I looked upon what I'm convinced is Golgotha and about 200 feet away entered what perfectly fits the biblical description of the empty tomb. (We won't dwell on the fact that the actual location of the cross is covered over with the asphalt of a Palestani bus station parking lot).

It was all much more than a little surreal. I actually stood in what in all likelihood is the exact spot where Peter stood when he burst into the empty tomb on Easter morning. Outside, I stood where I would have heard the Risen Lord's first word 'Mary' - had only I been there two millenium ago (I could have even gotten to her first and said, 'Psst you might want to look a little more closely at the One over there. Check out His eyes. I believe you'll feel better.)

It all was suddenly very real. I'm not one who believes we're any nearer to God in Jerusalem than in Athens. But, there's no denying I felt several worlds away from Lumpkin Street.

As I sat there trying to take it all in, the thought occurred to me that I don't need to come to Jerusalem to encounter the Lord Jesus. He is, after all, Risen. He is alive and through His Spirit has been poured out for all people of every place. Jesus can be encountered by anyone, anywhere, whose heart burns to know the living God.

I doubt I will ever forget what I experienced this morning. But I hope I take full advantage of the promise He reminded me of - no matter where I am, He will never be further from me than He was this morning in the tomb when I stood on one of the world's holiest spots.