Between the kingdom of God and the hell of humankind

Dr. Michel E. Abs

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches

Do we notice the absolute chaos and the utter evil that pervade humanity today?

Modern man has become preoccupied with his daily life and craving after money to fulfill needs, including illusory or artificial ones, invented for him by industrial society, to the extent that he is no longer able to see the situation of the human race today.

Wars, epidemics, social problems, deteriorating economic conditions, misdistribution of wealth, food and medicine on a global scale, and other misfortunes of modern society have swept the globe and led the human race to what the Master, who embodied our salvation, warned against.

On the counterpart, we witness development in human, medical and social services, to the extent that one almost considers that there are two different kind of human beings on earth.

It is the race between good and evil that began with the advent of humankind, and that takes on renewed forms.

It is the same creature that destroys homes, makes people homeless, kills them, and sometimes exterminates them, that shelters them, heals their wounds, and gives them warmth.

What are you made of, human being?

Is it the same clay from which the wicked and the righteous are made?

Is it the same human mind that invented the tools of lethality, inventing the means to be caring to the human being and protect him?

O contradictory creature, which embraces good and evil in one mind and in one soul, how do you switch from one situation to another?

I see you stabbing then bandaged the wounds. I see you expelling people then giving them shelter. I see you in your contradictions as an anomalous creature, fluctuating between good and evil.

The Incarnate Master, whose kingdom has no end, whose words go eternal tells us in the Gospel of Matthew that "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet"  (Matthew 24:6).

The Gospel of Marcos also mentioned that "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles:" (Mark 13:8).

Yes, O contradictory humanity, inconsistent with itself, this is not the end; this is the beginning of the pain.

The choice is yours, helpless humanity, to choose between the kingdom of God and the hell of humankind.