Terror or Love?

The Friday afternoon bombing of a downtown government building in Oslo, Norway is a sobering and tragic reminder that terrorism is still a global reality. Terrorism does not respect sovereign countries, religion, people groups, and free governments.

Pictures and video from the city of Oslo bring to mind past acts of cowardice from NYC, Washington D.C., to Madrid and Oklahoma City.

The suspects and convicted in these bombings may represent different groups, or causes (if you can call such depravity a cause), but at the end of the day they are simply cowardly thugs without any honor, respect, reason and decency. No perceived or real persecution justifies such acts of horror and desperation. These perpetrators are savages who have chosen the violent path of the madmen history has regarded as evil. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Oslo and all of Norway!

For Christ-followers we are once again reminded of the Apostle Paul's warning to Timothy about the godlessness of earth's last days:

¹But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. ⁶For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, ⁷always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

In the mid 60's Jackie DeShannon belted out Hal David's lyrics to Burt Bacharach's tune, What the World Needs Now:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

Love builds up, terror destructs. Love empowers, terror tears down.
Love requires patience and the suspension of self-centeredness. Terror is all about self.
Love is universal in appeal. Terror is disgusting in any form.
Love is about trust. Terror is about deceit.
Love is beautiful. Terror is ugly.
Love is lasting. Terror is temporary even in the aftermath of despicable events.
Love respects. Terror has no respect.
To love another requires that we sincerely love ourselves. Terror is the epitome of self-hatred.

I choose love. It's infinitely harder especially among those with whom we disagree. You can't deny that tyranny and terror have made their impact on the world, but at the end of the day love has and always will be a more powerful force.