A Kingdom Path for the Holy Land

If we are to think rightly about the situation in the Holy Land, we will please no one with our politics or theology. We will not go as far as our liberal friends will want us to go in raging against Israel and their oppression of Palestinians. At the same time, we will not go as far as our conservative friends will want us to go in complete and full support of Israel's policies and ethnic divine right to the land. We will have to walk the line of the Kingdom that pleases neither of these extremes, but offers a different path. A narrow, carefully laid, specific, and dangerous path. One that will demand martyrs for the sake of reconciliation to God and our neighbor. One that will need courageous men and women, who on shaking legs, will walk across the borders of politics, ancient religion, and deep generational fear and bitterness, to see another person as a human.

Only the Spirit can do that.

Only he can cause us to lay down our swords and see into the soul of another human.

Are there Israeli policies that need to change? YES. Is there terrorism that needs to be eradicated? Absolutely. Is there anti-semitisim and racism against Arabs that needs to end? Deeply. Yes.

But I’m afraid we spend way too much time as western believers supporting a secular, political, nation that fits our politics and speculated “end time theology”, and not enough time doing what Jesus actually asked us to do in being ministers of reconciliation.

I believe God cares way more about the Palestinian and Israeli Church loving each other so well that the world knows they are his disciples, than he does about Israel being a political state today. He always cares more about WHO we are as his church than he does WHAT we are.

I’ll end with a crafted prayer in the comments. I’ll post these short crafted prayers periodically so that you can pray with me:

Jesus, come quickly.
Our hearts are so heavy with the stories we are hearing from Israel and Palestine.

Strengthen your church. Give courage and wisdom to the believers and missionaries living in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

Make pathways for Israeli believers to meet and encourage Palestinian believers and vice versa.

Begin underground meetings of reconciliation through the gospel. Protect these meetings from extremists on both sides.

Have your way, Lord, and help us to walk your path, not or own.
Amen.