There Is a War in Syria

We need to watch world events, including the war in Syria, if we’re to be prepared for the coming world that all of God’s people long for. 

“There’s a war in Syria.”

At this point in time, that statement’s as evident as saying the sky is blue.

Of course there’s a war in Syria! Everybody knows it! Syria has been in a state of war for a long time now.

So why did the statement “there’s a war in Syria” seem so powerful to me just now?

I forgot

When I read the newspapers, I normally go straight to the crossword in the back. It isn’t the most educational use for a newspaper, but it’s less depressing than the actual news articles.

I was so busy relaxing and enjoying my life that I would spend more time looking up movies on IMDB than reading news stories about the thousands of people dying and suffering on the other side of the world. The war in Syria was in the far corners of my mind, where the occasional reference would barely register and was soon forgotten.

Reality check

Finally, I grabbed a newspaper for its intended purpose—the news. An article had caught my eye, and its contents brought the hard reality home.

According to the article, ISIS has started to use chemical weapons against the civilian population of Syria. The story focused on one family that had suffered from a mortar hitting their house and releasing a gas that had affected the entire family—from the parents to the two baby girls.

To make a long and painful story short, three of the family members are still suffering in the home of a relative in Turkey. The burns and blisters are still there, and the picture on the front page of the newspaper testified to the horrendous pain that such weapons could give to a 3-year-old girl.

The fourth member of the family, a newborn little girl, was buried by two of her uncles a few weeks after the attack. The newspaper recorded a sorrowing mother’s lament that her baby had barely opened her eyes at all in her extremely short life.

Need to be aware

This story is not unique to Syria but has become commonplace in many parts of the globe. In a world as connected as ours, there is no real justification for my ignorance or shock concerning the ongoing Syrian war. While I’m definitely not advocating immersing yourself in the news until you become clinically depressed, it is imperative that we all—including teenagers and young adults—read and be aware of what is happening in the world around us.

Two thousand years ago, Christ told us to “watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

In addition to watching our own spiritual state, we need to be aware of the world around us. Only by watching can we prepare ourselves for the terrible events that are prophesied to come. We especially need to be watching news from Europe and the Middle East, where the prophesied “king of the North” and “king of the South” will arise in the future (Daniel 11:40).

Being informed about the state of the world also helps us to more fervently pray “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). Too many of us are so wrapped up in ourselves that we can’t see what is occurring around the globe. The Bible predicted years ago that people would be self-absorbed in the end times (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

We need to look past whatever comfort we may be living in and see the lives of those who are suffering daily from war and famine. Without the intervention of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, suffering will only increase to unfathomable levels (Matthew 24:22).

What the future holds

God’s plan includes God wiping “away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

There is a war in Syria—as well as suffering and violence all over the world—but something much better is coming. Not only must we keep one eye on the news so that we know what is happening in the world today, but we must also keep an eye on the future that God has promised so we can read the news with a perspective that seems lost to most today: hope.

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