Friday, April 28, 2006

A Thank You to all my readers


In the last month there have been very few happy things to write about. But as I get ready for bed it occurs to me that the responses from everyone who reads this blog serve to give me hope.

From the persecution of Coptic Christians to the case of Andrea Clark, I have seen true Christian behavior and love from all of you who read this blog.

What I see is a group of people who, regardless of differences on some theological issues, care about life. You all care about people and bring Christ to others daily.

The mainstream media does not really cover the issues mentioned often on this blog, but the events of the last month show us that a difference can be made.

Some peaceful protests have placed the plight of Coptic Christians in the view of more people. And the Andrea Clark case, covered only by bloggers, has resulted in her being moved to a hospital that will care for her.

Oh...there is a way to go:

Copts are still second class citizens in their homeland and they suffer for the love of Christ.

Texas can still remove treatment from a patient even if they want to live.

People still ignore the Armenian Genocide.

And those who work with the poorest of the poor are still sometimes killed by those they try to help, like Sister Karen Klimczak.

There is still suffering.

But today, even though a family had their hearts wrenched by the medical system, a woman's life was saved.

Think for a moment. A life. The outcome was not perfect, but bloggers covered a story the media would not touch and people responded.

Some people called the hospital. Some mentioned the story to a friend who mentioned it to another and some Prayed. Even for a moment, they raised their minds to our Lord and prayed. And we can see, we are blessed to see (because He knows we need to see sometimes) that a life...a human life, goes on.

Peter, who in alot of ways was the first (followed shortly by Bent, I think you guys got here the same day) constant reader of this blog (other than my wife, her father and my good friends Prashant, Sarah and Julia) posted a comment today that describes all of you:

I Read this the other day and thought about you and your blog.

"There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."

1 Cor. 12:25-26

I read this and I think of all of you, those whose names I know and those I do not.

I have some running around to do tomorrow and I wanted to get this thank you out there before the weekend. I'll keep doing what I'm doing and all of you (with blogs and without) keep doing what you are doing.

Thank you all, from the deepest part of my heart.
May God bless you. And may God bless us, The One Body in Christ.

2 comments:

Julia said...

"There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."

It makes me smile. At the end of the day, I feel that denomination doesn't matter that much. We've all got our quirks, no one is perfect, but it doesn't matter so much how we worship as that we worship at all. Maybe even other religions, like Buddhism and Wicca, are just ways that people try to recognize God in their lives and in the world. And I don't think the fact that many of us identify with one group over another should ever come between people when it comes to loving each other and being there for each other.

I pray every night for terrorists and extremists of all stripes. I can only imagine how much pain they must be in to find that kind of hatred a viable alternative. I can only imagine how much pain they must be in because of their hatred, and how much damage they do to themselves along with everyone else. It's a trap, that kind of hatred, because once you act on it once, you start feeling like you're forced to stick with it. To acknowledge that you're wrong...imagine how hard it must be for these people, who've taken hundreds of lives and created so much suffering, to admit that they're wrong, and to accept that much guilt upon their own heads. I feel sorry for them, and I hope that some of them, at least, are able to find that kind of strength.

Bent El Neel said...

Hey David
It's a pleasure to be able to share your thoughts and feelings every day :)

We all, as members of the Body should band together. And with people like you around that shouldn't be too hard. I for one really appreciate your commitment to bringing to light all these issues. The more people are aware, the more they pray, the more they want to do something about it.

Thank you Dave and God bless you. You are always in our prayers :)