Light Force

A few weeks ago, I finished the book Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen. Many of you may be familiar with Brother Andrew and the ministry Open Doors. Brother Andrew also wrote God’s Smuggler, which is his account of ministering to others behind the Iron Curtain by smuggling bibles and other Christian literature into these countries, even when possession of such items often resulted in severe punishment, persecution, and even death. If you haven’t read God’s Smuggler, I highly recommend it. Even though the staunch Soviet bloc is no longer in existence, the book helps to highlight the needs of persecuted Christians throughout the world.

We’ve had Light Force on our shelf a long time, and I was always hesitant to delve into it, but when we were in the Middle East back in January, I decided it would be one of the first books I read when we returned to the States. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book after I returned from our vacation. One of the reviews on the back claims, “This is a book that invites applause and criticism. It will edify and offend, fostering healthy and much-needed discussion and debate in the Western Church.” This review left me more curious about the specific content contained within the pages.

Light Force focuses on the Church in the Middle East, specifically in Lebanon, Jerusalem, and Gaza. Andrew and Janssen relate several stories from the area, including those of Messianic Jews, Palestinian Christians, and Lebanese believers. The authors focus a great deal on the often-tense relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. I learned a great deal from this book specifically about the Palestine-Israel conflict. Israel as a nation was formed in 1948 after over 50 years of efforts to create a Jewish state. World War II left thousands of surviving Jewish individuals as refugees, many of whom wanted to move to Palestine, then under British rule. Fighting between Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine began in 1947 after the UN decision to create an official Jewish state. Before May of 1948, over 150,000 Palestinians Arabs had fled to neighboring states and after years of unfair and unjust treatment, even by the Western world, the Jewish people were able to declare their independence from British rule.

Many people in the West (including most Christians) support the nation of Israel and its people without apology. While I too believe that the Jewish people are God’s chosen people and need a land that belongs to them alone, for several years I have wondered at the United States’ international policy concerning the nation of Israel. It seems to me that we support them automatically, without considering the ramifications of Israel’s policies and actions.

I wonder what the first Jewish settlers thought about the land of Israel when they arrived. It wasn't this vast land of freedom with golden plains and sparkling lakes. No, it was crowded, cramped, and already had thousands of Arab Palestinians living there. I too wonder about the Palestinians’ reactions. I imagine it would be similar to most Americans’ reactions if the UN announced they were giving the Native Americans ninety percent of their land back to them and forcing the rest of the Americans to move into the remaining ten percent of the land. This is basically what happened between the Israelis and the Palestinians if you equate the Native Americans with the Israelis and the Palestinians with Americans. It isn’t hard to imagine how tension could so easily and fully develop between these two people groups, even if they shared the same faith. Brother Andrew focuses a great deal on the relationships between Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews- both have the same faith in Christ, and yet their culture and history influences how they celebrate and practice their faith- it is these differences in culture and their shared history of conflict that is often at the center of their disagreements today.

As I mentioned before, I sometimes question the United States’ standing policy of supporting Israel, seemingly in whatever they decide to do. I want to make it clear that I support Israel because it is a nation of God’s chosen people, a nation of people who were enslaved by several different governments, discriminated against for centuries, and slaughtered in the wake of absolute hatred during the horrific events of the Holocaust. However, I also realize they are people, and therefore not perfect; they make mistakes too. Brother Andrew states this realization eloquently:

“During my subsequent visits…opened my eyes to a whole new side of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Until then I had mostly heard only one side of the story. I admired and supported Israel because I believe they were God’s chosen people, but I had not stopped to consider that God’s chosen people were not perfect and that I could still love them while critiquing what they did.”

I think it’s easier for the West to so easily side with Israel because the people with whom Israel is fighting are Arab. If we were completely and brutally honest with ourselves, we would admit to ourselves that more often than not, we are prejudiced against Arab people. There is an association that forms in our minds; when we think about Arab people, we tend to think about Muslim individuals, and then our brains inevitably go straight to Islamic jihad and terrorism. Just like not all Christians are a part of a fanatical cult which has twisted the true beliefs of the Christian faith, neither are all Muslims involved with the Islamic jihad or Taliban which has also twisted the core beliefs of their faith. It is also important to realize that not all Arabs are Muslim, and even if they were, should it make that much of a difference?

Even though we were not visiting the specific part of the Middle East on which Light Force focuses, I could still sense that the Arab people feel that the world automatically judges them simply because they are Arab. My refugee clients who are Arab also feel the same way. After Isaac and I returned from our trip, one man from Iraq asked me, “Did you enjoy your visit?” to which I responded, “Oh yes! It was wonderful; we had a lot of fun and really enjoyed our time there.” He then hesitated and looked me straight in the eye and asked, “And how did you find the people?” I answered honestly, “Everyone was so warm and welcoming; they are the most hospitable people I have met.” My client smiled sadly and shook his head, “Yes, that is our culture. Arab people are like that. I wish everyone else understood our culture.” I could tell that, especially after having lived in the United States for several months, he could easily recognize the West’s antagonistic view towards all things Arab.

In February, Gracia Burnham spoke at Grace one evening. Burnham, a former missionary in the Philippines, made headlines when she and her husband were kidnapped by Islamic militants while they were celebrating their wedding anniversary at a local resort in the summer of 2001. They were held hostage for more than a year, and her husband Martin was killed during the rescue attempt by the Philippine Army. Gracia was also wounded in the thigh during their escape, and she has since written two books and completed numerous speaking engagements. While she spoke about her experience, one thing truly stood out to me. She commented that for several months, she was naturally very bitter toward her kidnappers, but that eventually both she and Martin began to pray for the group of militants. As they continually prayed for their kidnappers, Gracia and Martin felt peace, and they also found more opportunities to speak with the men in the group about their lives and their faith. She said at one point, "Maybe...maybe it's our job to love these people- to love Muslims. Not to judge them because of what we think they believe, but to truly love them with the love of God so that they may see it, so that they may see the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Brother Andrew stated something similar while speaking to a group of Messianic Jews living in Palestine:

“Christ said to go and make disciples of all nations. Did that include Palestinians or not? Did that include Arabs or Muslims? How could we ignore more than one billion people whom God says He loves?”

Indeed, how could we ignore them?