By Marie Morrow
Hate is so loud, and so easily gets our attention. It is amplified and surrounds us, overwhelming our senses. Looking at the news, it was all I could see, and I despaired at the state of our world.
Yet for every single act of evil, there are many more good people appalled at the atrocities and wanting to make things right. For every lone bomber, there are hundreds willing to jump into action to help save their fellow man. Media creates such hype about the acts of hate. Yet with each terror attack, countless stories emerge of ordinary people being heroes, making sacrifices for complete strangers, and reaching out to offer aid and comfort. Compassion and kindness are most revealed in times of pain and trouble.
Hate may be loud, but goodness is so very bright. It is the silent sun that rises every morning and the soft colors that bathe the world at sunset. Love shines on in this world day after day, through loving mothers, doting fathers, dedicated teachers, brave firefighters, and caring nurses. It is the person who donates a kidney, adopts an orphan, digs a well, rescues the helpless and fights for justice. We can see it in a kindly grandmother or the innocence of a child’s eyes. It bursts forth in the creativity of an artist and the inspiration of a writer.
I have come to see that a portion of love and goodness are innate in our very humanity, a faint imprint left by the one who created us in His image. Perhaps just laying dormant, waiting to be fully realized.
Love is not loud. It does not seek attention or boast of its power. Goodness does not make a big splash on the evening news. For the most part, love and goodness go quietly, unseen, as they daily wrestle against the tide of evil. Yet despite great opposition, goodness fights on all around us. An addict decides to try one more time and a victim gets back up again. A couple works to restore a broken marriage and a city rallies to rebuild after a tragedy.
Pain and sorrow are very great. Yet joy remains abundant in this world, the laughter of children, the excitement of newlyweds, the family playing tag in the park, and the joyful worship of praise to God. Our differences are many, yet across the globe, countless people are crossing ethnic and societal boundaries, aligning together in common cause, to stand against prejudice, to guard our freedom, to protect our environment, and to fight for change where ever it is needed. No matter how dark the night, the dawn silently pushes back the darkness and defiantly says, we cannot be beaten.
This is the overlay of grace, the light that cannot be vanquished and the songs that cannot be silenced. Yes, Satan may make a lot of noise. But this is God’s world, and it is good.