Has the world lost its marbles?Josh Rous - 18 Dec 2015

Over the last few weeks, it feels like the world has lost its marbles.

The November attacks in Paris have brought to the surface of the public consciousness some uncomfortable truths about our world that we would rather ignore. Since then, hatred and retribution seem to have dominated every headline. Raids in Brussels; stabbings in London; shootings in the States.

And in the most recent controversy American presidential candidate Donald Trump has asserted that Muslims should be banned from entering the US. His answer to the hatred of a few was to pour hatred onto many.

The response to this was a justified international outcry and condemnation of his remarks. But even this was marked by hatred, for Trump and for his supporters.

But hate is not the answer to hate. Slander does not stop slander. Bombings do not stop bombings.

We live in a world where we can join moral crusades at the click of a button. With all the information and opinions we now have access to, it’s so easy to become infuriated with what’s going on around us. In fact we’re encouraged to; anger and hatred are seen as the engines of social change.

When a crime is committed, we pour scorn on the criminal; when a celebrity makes a faux pas, we pour scorn on the celebrity; and so often, irrespective of the outcome, we pour scorn on our politicians.

But when we do this, we’re adding fuel to an already burning fire.

Breaking the cycles of hatred we see in our broken world takes an act of magnitude. It takes someone to stand up; to surrender themselves and to respond with love rather than hate.

In the middle of this brokenness, we’ve arrived at Christmas: celebrating the birth of a baby. A baby born in miraculous circumstances with a unique purpose: to take on all of the hate the world had to offer in one, ultimate act of love for its people.

This is a challenging message. It is a challenge to us all not to react with hatred after recent world events, and a challenge not to think of ourselves as better than others. It is a challenge to see the love Christ has for the most murderous terrorist and for the most destructive politician. But most of all, it is a challenge to see that what brings us out of condemnation is not our own righteousness, but that helpless baby, born to save us.

In the middle of a world that’s fighting and in turmoil, hope comes from the most unexpected place. One baby, born in a manger: the ultimate peacemaker.