Taking a bird’s eye view on current world affairs, one can come to the conclusions that most of world disasters over the years have been man-made.
The current world affairs are not promising as well, particularly in the Middle East. With the turn of the decade, namely 2011, the Middle East countries have been living a long nightmare of bloodbaths, violence, forced displacements, bankruptcy, and days that augur a bleak future.
The latest crisis that abruptly erupted was in Lebanon where the deteriorating economic situation was followed by the apocalyptic Beirut Port explosion on August 4 which wreaked havoc on Lebanon leaving little chance for the restoration of the prosperous status quo ante.
The website asianews.it has recently posted a heart-wrenching report of a mother who throws her dead son into the Mediterranean waters while fleeing by sea from Lebanon.
The whole event goes as such: “On 7 September, 2020 about 50 people boarded a boat that left Al Miniyeh, a town about 10 km north of Tripoli. They happily dreamt of a better future in Europe, about 189 km away, in Cyprus. During the crossing, the boat lost its bearings and found itself in the high seas somewhere between the Cypriot and Turkish coasts. They ran out of fuel and the passengers who had planned a short journey began to suffer from hunger, thirst and dehydration due to the scorching sun and the stifling heat of the eastern Mediterranean. Out of the 50 who left, 14 died, including a child on 10 September. The mother, Zeinab Al Qak held his body in her arms for two days. She then decided to do the impossible. In front of her 10-year-old daughter who survived, she gave her son’s body to the sea. Her final words were "Let your last rest be here" before breaking down in fits of tears and hysteria.”
This question raised is why this Lebanese lady chose to take a step fraught with danger, namely crossing the Mediterranean and heading to the unknown?
This woman was seeking justice… she was looking for a world where love and peace prevails. She looked for a world where she can ensure a better future for her children.
I scanned a number of books looking for means to attain love and social justice in this troubled world. Finally I found it. It is the Holy Bible. This lady who lost hope in life can find all answers to her confused life in Lord Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, since any verbatim application of what Lord Jesus said over 2,000 years ago would turn the world into a place of peace, prosperity and opportunities.
The Holy Bible says: Jesus* saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
When meekness, the pure in heart, and peacemaking prevails then justice will immediately follow.
When thoroughly reading the words of Lord Jesus, one would feel at ease because such words map out a road leading to a pacified world, namely a world abounding with mercy.
The wise are those who read the Sermon on the Mount, consider every word in every aspect of life. Consequently, peace, love, and justice will enroot and snowball into a life that glorifies the Lord.
