Why Palestinians?

I was teaching a class one day during the build up to the most recent Gulf War. It was an American History class and so the conversation turned to America's actions regarding Iraq. I've been teaching classes to Arab kids on a volunteer basis for years now. It's a great way to give to the community and get to know people. I'm used to it, but it's still a bit difficult trying to explain America's actions to people who view America as an aggressor and their enemy. I try to explain why things happen without getting into who's right and who's wrong. But, sometimes your personal opinions creep through.

One of the students in the class was a very bright young lady. She is now at an Ivy League university on a full scholarship. She's also an amazingly kind and good girl and one of my all-time most prized students. She piped up and said, "Well, maybe France will help us." At that point I just couldn't keep my thoughts to myself. I scoffed at her and said, "Do you really think that? They're not going to do anything for you. They just talk like they like Arabs to keep their Arab minority happy. They're never actually going to do anything for you."

As I was finishing that sentence, I looked to the back of the room and the young woman who had spoken was crying - hard. "What's wrong?", I asked.

I'll never forget her tearful answer. "Nobody loves us.", she said "Nobody loves us."

She was right. Americans think of the Palestinians as terrorists. Europeans have the same view. Other Arabs see them as trouble makers and as failures who lost their country. Israelis, of course, see them as the great enemy. There are few people groups on Earth with so few friends.

As Christians, I believe that we have two primary obligations. One is the Great Commandment, to love God and love others. The other is the Great Commission, to bring others closer to Jesus so that they can share in that love. As western Christians we cannot let our political views keep us from sharing the love of God with people. Jesus didn't.

What she said broke my heart. It's not the fault of a fifteen year old girl that there are one hundred year old conflicts here. How can we as Christians justify letting our political opinions about old fights keep us from sharing the love of Jesus with people? On that day, I resolved to do everything I could to let the Arabs of this country, the Palestinians, know that Jesus loves them. That's why we stay here and that's why the majority of our ministries serve the Palestinians.