Church on Fire

in light of the happenings 24 hours ago... a church was burnt and two others had failed attempts to burn them down.

I have been reading the news articles, hearing people talk about, seeing sms-es circulate telling people to take down their Christian car stickers to avoid cars being smashed, asking my Malay friend what's her take on the situation and thinking about it the whole day and asking God to make sense of this whole issue.

I am saddened to see an issue over one word - Allah - could be taken to a different level by certain parties. After reading some articles and research, I have found that the etymology or origin of the word is debatable. Therefore I wonder if we as fellow citizens together in this nation blessed with so many things should even begin to contend and bicker and instigate violence to satisfy something that could be ambiguous and doubtful in the first place?

is the country's peace and well being worth abandoning in such a fashion?

where has our decision to make 1Malaysia work?

negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku

blood spilled in the days of colonial imperialists for the sake of our independence today.

have we forgotten it?

we owe our forefathers an explanation.

as a Malaysian, I leave it to you as to how one should respond in the face of such times. do we resort to violence, condemnation, demonstrations and picketing to draw support and suffer our unity for the sake of just one word? do the ends justify the means?

I am Christian. I believe in the everlasting God who says that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I believe that Jesus is the only answer to the world. I believe by giving my life to Him, it is the best decision I have ever made.

because in Him i find peace, hope and a future.

i am saddened to hear of the attacks on churches. With all due respect, I do not look at this and decide that my muslim friends are now sprouting horns and tails and look like Satan. Neither do I think that i should react by saying that these people who did these acts of hatred and vandalism be sentenced to hell or basically go into despair in darkness.

the gospel is not this.

if we truly call ourselves Christian, let's walk the talk.

let's fight hatred with love.

let's join hands and battle ignorance with understanding.

let's offer fellowship in the face of animosity.

if we truly preach a gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation, then let us forgive those who have hurt us and not let an act of burning a building spark negativity and resentment in our Christian walk.

lets stand up and be counted as both Christian and Malaysian. it is our responsibility to follow God's commandment of loving others as much as we love ourselves; moreover our duty as a citizen of Malaysia to pray for unity, to support positive moves of our leaders to bring our nation to a higher level of independence and progress.