Before the War

We arrived in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, four weeks ago today. Daily life is proving to be more cumbersome and challenging than daily life should be in the 21st century.  Part of the reason for this is that much of Africa is still economically and developmentally lacking.  Liberia, specifically, has endured political and economic instability since a military coup in 1980 and two successive civil wars that left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy.  Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil wars and their consequent economic upheaval, with about 85% of the population continuing to live below the international poverty line (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia (accessed August 6, 2013)).

A phrase that I have heard countless times since our arrival is before the war. It seems that the war is an ever-fixed point in time from which all other life events are predicated.  While looking for housing, this fact was very evident.  We viewed over 17 properties, and almost all of them were in a current state of deterioration and disrepair, though they hinted of former days of luxury and beauty.  The explanation?  Before the war….  The electrical grid and water purification systems are no more, thus the need for generating power and filtering water and disinfecting vegetables to rid of contaminants.  Why?  Before the war…

Seeing the obvious effects of war in the physical elements of this country, I cannot help but consider the spiritual and emotional effects of war as well.  A recent article in Newsweek magazine (MacDougall, Clair. “When Liberian Child Soldiers Grow Up.”  Newsweek, July 7, 2013. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/07/31/when-liberian-child-soldiers-grow-up.html (accessed August 6, 2013)) states the following:

The civil war in Liberia became known around the world for its atrocities, often involving children and teenagers as both perpetrators and victims. More than 38,000 children are estimated to have taken part in the war as fighters, porters, ammunition carriers, cooks, and sex slaves. What they saw and did—and what was done to them—is an unredeemable reality.  In the aftermath of the wars, the government and Western aid agencies created programs to help former child soldiers reenter society, but many have been unable to build normal lives—especially the girls and women whose soldier past is seen by Liberian society as more of a transgression. While many male commanders negotiated government positions after the war, female combatants were largely excluded from the process. Today many of the women who went to war are shunned and live in slums, scraping by for survival, often by prostituting themselves for a few dollars.

Oh, the recollections these young people must have before the war, and, yet, how different life must be for them now. As men endeavor to re-build buildings and power plants and water systems, only God can re-build the human heart and spirit.

A person does not have to live through a literal war to have wounds from battle.  Life offers to each of us opportunities for devastation and destruction.  Disappointment, loneliness, heartache, abandonment, sickness, disease, abuse, poverty, and neglect wait for each person.  Do you have an event in your life that has become your before the war moment?  Most of us do.

John 10:10 says that the thief comes not, but to steal, to kill, and to destroy but that Jesus came that we might have life – and not just life but life more abundantly. Through Christ there are no unredeemable realities.  Paul shared with the Romans (5:12-21) that by one man, Adam, sin entered the world, resulting in spiritual death for all men, for all have sinned. But as by Adam’s offence death reigned, much more the gift of righteousness reigns in life by one, Jesus Christ. Sin endeavors to leave us forever altered in this life, but where sin abounds unto death and defeat, grace much more abounds to life and victory in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Can you recall your before the war situation or circumstance?  Jesus stands ready to heal your hurts and to restore you to the person you were before the war sin waged in your life.  My prayer is that you will allow Him to do so.