In my years as CEO of World Vision Australia I have seen suffering in many parts of the world. Recently I visited another place of despair. World Vision has been working in Gaza, the land of Samson, Goliath and the Philistines, since 2009. This is a place where wonderful work is being done with children who are traumatised by war and who are growing up never knowing anything else.

Gaza is one of those places where you find hope in the most unlikely of circumstances. Our agricultural partners there are brilliant and are making a huge difference. Watching families farm strawberries and lemons and multiply their backyard supplies of goats moved me to tears.

Our psychological support and child-friendly spaces are also providing hope by working with 6,000 traumatised children, teaching resilience as well as strategies to deal with anxiety. Having lived in a situation of conflict all their lives, these children now see less fear and more purpose in their parents.

The long-term effect of this work with the children of Gaza is that peace is actually being promoted in a land that has seen far too much conflict. I was reminded of the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Something else I was reminded of was the fact that both the perpetrators and the victims of the suffering in Gaza are equal in the eyes of God. We are all made in the image of our Creator. And we are all in need of forgiveness and grace.

The words of Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn are relevant here: “the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts.”

I am challenged to consider what I am doing to imitate Christ and help bring in his kingdom of peace. Do I show love to those I would rather hate?
Jesus was serious when he told us to love our enemies. He was so serious that he did it himself in his time of greatest anguish. On a brutal Roman cross he said, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” That was a challenge to me as I walked the streets of Gaza.

I saw Jesus in the faces of the children in Gaza and in the good work that is being done there.

Image: flickr_GilesT1