July 4th Reflections

     Our friend Sherif in Cairo sends us regular Facebook updates on the coup in Egypt. If you have not heard the news, democratically elected president Morsi is out and the army is now in charge. Millions who claim Morsi was inept at best and a power-hungry thug at worst are rejoicing in the streets. But there are hundreds of thousands of others (perhaps a few million?), including our friend Sherif and his family, who think this is a devastating development. They have lost all hope in any form of democracy taking hold in Egypt, and of course there is the immediate threat of riots and perhaps civil war. The country seems that divided.
     I do not pretend to know the ins and outs of the situation. For all I know, Morsi is inept or perhaps a real scumbag. The primary connection I have to the situation is our friend Sharif, and our hope that he and his family remain safe. I also am of course concerned for our brothers and sisters in the Coptic Christian Church, who make up about 10 percent of the 90 million people in this country. And I am just concerned for a nation of people who are so bitterly divided, and about to (potentially) abandon their year-long experiment with democracy.
     I offer no solutions to the situation in Egypt; I am ill-equipped to choose sides. But I pray for my friends Sherif and his family. I pray that the Church in Egypt can embody the personhood of Christ and become effective peace-makers. And I pray there is no power grab by the army as they prepare for another democratic process to begin.
     And of course on this July 4 holiday, I give thanks for our nation. We greatly misuse our freedoms in this nation. We treat our freedoms as an amusement park rather than as a responsibility. And yet, we are free. We have peaceful transfers of power. We do not tolerate attempts and schemes to overthrow our government. We can preach and teach the Word of God in our sanctuaries and small groups. I could go on and on.
     Today, the invitation is to stop to read about the situation in Egypt, or some other politically troubled nation, and realize just how good we have it.