Will we always have Paris?

I was talking with my sister about the Paris attacks.

The focus came around to how do you respond to pure hate? Hate that is intent on total destruction to the point that to sacrifice your own life (i.e. as a suicide bomber) becomes a holy act.

ISIS sees Western culture as the enemy. So much so that they are blind to their own hypocrisy.

A hypocrisy that treats women, in every sense of the word, as mere appendages to men.

Within ISIS women are of no worth, except to spawn male children. They are best left uneducated and pregnant so they grow up volunteering to strap bombs on themselves to defend a movement that places no value on them. Women must remain totally covered from head to toe. Because their beauty cannot be comprehended apart from sexual temptation. On the other hand, men are free to roam the range of their sexual desire with no consequences.

In such a culture disagreement is seen as blasphemy, punishable by death. To openly question authority is the greatest sin.

ISIS looks on Western culture as the devil incarnate. They see moral decay, disrespect and degeneracy. And to be clear we are, by no means, without fault. 

There is plenty that the United States has done that smacks of arrogance. 

On-going drone attacks on civilians, the recent bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kabul, and supporting a series of dictators in other countries simply because we need their natural resources don't paint the U.S. in a good light. 

Is it any wonder that ISIS members have pledged their lives to our obliteration? 

Where is the love? 

God's Son once said, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 13.15).

In Christian tradition that is exactly what Jesus did. 

Dying a painful death on the cross for our sins, His death redeemed us from the grave. We have spiritual life because of his sacrifice. If we were able to trace our spiritual heritage, we would find millions upon millions of souls were saved because of what happened on the cross over 2,000 years ago.

The emptiness of hate screams from the grave.

The lack of hope and inability to trust spreads like a cancer across both cultures.

However, I have to believe that the power of the cross and what Jesus accomplished is greater than any cultural barrier.

Such love is supernatural, but it's beyond comprehension without faith.

It is the only solution that can break the cycle of hate that breeds mistrust and fear that swallows up souls.

Yet, the love of God is a paradox. 

Jesus also said: "To you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you..."

In fact, this is the ultimate proof that we are followers of God's son. "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13.34)

This is the kind of love the world so desperately needs.

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