On March 20, 2015, a young woman named Farkhunda Malikzada was attacked by a mob of men outside of a popular mosque in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of people watched as these bloodthirsty men beat her with sticks and stones, ran over her over with a car, set her body on fire, and threw her over a bridge into the river below.
As they beat her, the crowds cried out, “God is great! God is great!”
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This attack started because these men accused her of burning a copy of the Qur’an, the Islamic holy book…. an offense punishable by death.
Instead of questioning her – or giving her the benefit of the doubt – they took justice into their own hands and killed her.
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Farkhunda was not only a daughter, a sister, and a friend.
She was also innocent.
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After a brief police investigation, the truth came out that she was attacked because she courageously confronted several men who were selling drugs outside of the mosque.
Fearing for their own safety, they falsely accused her and incited the attack. Thus an innocent life was taken to protect the lives of the guilty.
And I can’t help but see something of Christ’s own story in that.
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Jesus was innocent. But he died for the guilty… he died for me.
Yes, God is great. But that’s because he has not condemned us; rather, he’s loved us and given himself for us.
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As we contemplate Jesus hanging from a tree, we must embrace the new and final commandment he gave us hours before his death:
“Love one another.” (John 13:34).
Think about that person who irritates us or gets under our skin. Think about those we pass on the streets, holding cardboard signs asking for bread, or the homebound – stuck, unable to come to church.
Think about those faces we see on the news – the addict, the poor, the refugee; those the world neglects.
Think about those living under our own roof – our spouse, our children, our self. How are we loving them?
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Answer this question and we’ll bring glory to God and peace to his people on earth.