News

Christian light shines in a troubled land

February 7, 2006

By Rev Margery Collin, United Free Church Representative on ACTS' Church Life Network. Reproduced from the Spring 2006 News-sheet.

How do you cope with life in a prison of 2 square miles from where you can see where you want to go but are forbidden to travel?

How do you cope when your land has been confiscated, your livelihood ruined, your house bulldozed, your children traumatised?

How do you react when ‘love your enemy’ is the last thing you want to hear because your enemy has knocked you down once too often?

Such is the plight of the diminishing Palestinian Christian community in Bethlehem. Diminishing in numbers they may be but Christian they remain and, as such, hold fast to the teaching of Jesus.

In the midst of national conflict and a collapsing infrastructure, unemployment and poverty foster domestic violence and substance abuse as tolerance levels and self esteem reach an all time low.

Nevertheless, hope shines like a beacon in the darkness as members of the staff at Wi’am, the reconciliation centre, work tirelessly to reunite families, build relationships within the community and across faiths and seek to bring something of the love of Christ to all who come to their premises for help.

They believe that hope is not hope unless it takes risks. They try to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, always having time for each person’s needs and always seeing the face of Christ in those they meet.

These Christians are driven by hope – hope for a better future. Though pain and hardship seem overwhelming, they choose to hope because, as Christians, they are a people of hope. They believe in a God who saves; they trust in the promises of Jesus and are convinced that the only way to hope is to remember the hope they have been given.

What a wonderful example they are to all of us who claim to follow Christ. What an inspiration they are to those of us in the United Free Church who have the privilege of paying encouraging visits and setting up a partnership between youngsters in Bethlehem and Scotland.