Yesterday I witnessed something very unique. I stepped out of the U-Bahn station in central Vienna to go shopping for a suit to wear to the ball I am attending this Friday, and I heard a sound that is utterly foreign here: hundreds of people shouting in unison. I quickly turned around and saw a large group of people (probably around 300) gathered in the center of Stephansplatz, the large square in the center of the city right in front of the famous Cathedral. They were protesting something. I was too far away to tell if things were safe, but it did not sound so, and it was absolutely freezing outside, so I quickly went to my destination.
On my way back, they were still there, and this time I noticed that police had mostly surrounded the area, but were simply watching. It appeared safe, and many bystanders were watching, so I approached the scene. I quickly saw that this was a protest for "Freedom for Libya." These people were passionately showing support for their people, speaking out against their unbelievably cruel dictator's regime, and trying to convince the Libyan ambassador in Vienna to stop riding the fence and show where his allegiance lies. Reporters were everywhere, and the people being interviewed were clearly passionate about the issue. The sense of unity and family was overwhelming. In fact, rather than feeling in danger, I caught a sense of positivity from the whole proceeding.
So I've been thinking. These people are fighting for freedom, and protesting the brutal murders that have happened in their country. I don't know what the exact numbers are, I don't think anyone really does, but I heard one official figure that put it at around 600 deaths and 1400 injured/missing. Even if these numbers were more than doubled and we assume that 5000 people have died, look at the passion that these people have for such a (relatively) small number. I don't mean to minimize the Libyan atrocities, but hear me out for a minute:
If we really knew our God, wouldn't we be hundreds of times more passionate? We have been given the knowledge that has set us free from a regime far more oppressive than that of Gaddafi. The bondage of sin is such a horrific thing, and the freedom that we find in Christ is literally the fulfillment of our purpose in life. Not only that, but I am sure that right now all of us know people who have died, are dying, or are on their way to a certain death in which they do not know Christ. These victims of sin and Satan's control here on earth should be more horrific to us than the bloody pictures I saw on the posters yesterday in Stephansplatz, yet they are not. Where is our passion? I'm not exactly suggesting we go parading through the streets shouting out the Gospel, but then again, would that be such a bad thing? Honestly, it would be better than what many of us are doing now: which is precisely nothing. But more than that, our lives should be a constant demonstration, a constant protest, against the systems of this world. They should be constant pointers to Christ. We should be billboards with the slogan: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
And then I think, those 300 Muslims in Vienna, Austria could have thought, "What can we do? What kind of difference can we make in a tiny country hundreds of miles away from this home we are trying to support?" And so many of us think the same way so much of the time. "What good can I do? There are not enough Christians in this world and heaven is so far away from most people's minds... how can we make a difference for the Kingdom?" But that is foolishness. We are in a war, and each one of us must play his part. What would happen if the man who drove the supply truck to the soldiers on the front lines thought that way? Or the squad whose job was to secure one building in a town? It would all fall apart, which if you ask me is exactly what is happening in much of the church today. If enough people play their part, then things happen.
If this passion seems totally foreign to you, or if it is something that you once experienced but feel like you have somehow lost, then I challenge you: have you ever really encountered Christ? The Christ that we see in the Bible changes lives permanently. The Christ that "has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Has that good work ever really begun for you? I thought it had for me - until it really did. When I truly met Christ, everything changed. I'm not professing perfection. I only made it 10 days without a cigarette despite my post that I would never smoke again. But His forgiveness is there, and He is continuing to work on me.
I'll end with my absolute favorite quote from The Lord of the Rings, which has encouraged me many times in my spiritual walk:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
"Wir müssen nur entscheiden, was wir mit der Zeit anfangen wollen, die uns gegeben ist."
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