Like a lot of people, I’ve been following the news from the Middle East and North Africa. What has been termed the “Arab Spring” is now turning into the “Arab Fall” (as in the season of Autumn) as we head into November. It started in Tunisia, then Egypt and then a wild fire of protests and even some regime changes in places like Syria, UAE, Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran and recently in Libya with the overthrow and death of Muammar Gaddafi.
Here’s an awesome website with an interactive timeline of the events so far.
For months we’ve been watching the news stories of people taking to the streets in protest to oppressive, corrupt governments and hundreds have lost their lives standing up for freedom. Now, I’m not a political expert by any means & it remains to be seen if the unrest and changes in that region of the world will be positive or negative. Will these countries change and allow true freedom to flourish or will another evil and oppressive government rise? We just don’t know yet. Some report that all the upheaval in the middle east and africa was sparked off by one young man named Mohamed Bouazizi, who set fire to himself in protest after police confiscated the fruit and vegetables he was selling from a street stall. His friends, family and beyond took to the streets and let their voices be heard and that was the tipping point for many.
Here’s what I’m struck with: The powerful inner yearning for freedom. People in these violent hotbed countries are courageously putting everything on the line to fight for freedom. Sometimes armed with nothing more than sticks and rocks, these people, most of whom are young adults, are willing to risk their lives to oust oppression. There’s something in all of us that screams out when things aren’t fair. When our innate sense of justice and freedom is threatened or worse, taken away, something inside cries foul.
Personally I think that inner stamp of freedom comes from God. He didn’t make us with the capacity to cope with being oppressed and controlled. He created us to live willingly to worship and follow Him and to live in love and harmony with others. When that’s all messed with, we kinda go nuts. We fight, we become enraged, we protest, we even set fire to ourselves. It’s as if we just can’t handle the suffocating hand of oppression. That’s why Jesus emphasized freedom and it’s why I believe only He can truly deliver it. He is after all the “Prince of Peace”.
