Editorial: Praying for rain … to stop
Just months ago we reported on Churches of Christ in the midst of the Ferguson, Mo., protests. Not long after that, a congregation in Oklahoma showed us how to forgive a racist chant. And now Baltimore.
The racially charged headlines come in waves, like the floods that have claimed lives, destroyed homes and washed away roads in Middle America. Gray clouds hang over our offices in Oklahoma as we write these words, threatening to worsen the deluge.
We thank God for the churches responding to these natural and man-made disasters. We recognize that we must formulate long-term strategies to address them. In our cities, we must combat poverty and injustice.
When the storms of life strike, we must provide more than blankets for the victims.
We salute Christians dedicated to long-term recovery — amid cries for justice in Baltimore and cries for help in Tornado Alley.
And we pray for the rain to stop.
In the midst of the recent downpour, however, an Oklahoma preacher told his congregation about the prison epistles of Paul. At the end of his life, the apostle didn’t ask for a prison break, but for an outbreak of the Gospel. Paul realized that the ultimate antidote to pain is not its removal, but spiritual growth through pain.
May that be our prayer as we weather the storms today and the storms ahead.
