Long ago the rabbis offered one interpretation of the Biblical verse which tells us that we’re created in the image of God. It does not refer to physical likeness, they explained, but to spiritual potential. We have within us the power to reflect as God’s creatures the highest values of our Creator. As God is forgiving and merciful, so can we be; as He is caring and kind, so must we strive to be; as He is filled with love, so must we be.
Because of the actions I witnessed during that hell in Beirut, I glimpsed at least a fleeting image of heaven, for in the hearts and hands of men who chose to act as brothers, I glimpsed God’s hand as well. I did not stand alone to face a world forsaken by God. I felt I was part of one created with infinite care and wonderful, awesome potential.
We live in a world where it’s not hard to find cause for despair. The chaplain has the challenge to bring to those who often see terror at its worst, some reason for hope. We need to keep faith and to keep searching, even in the worst of times. Only then may we find strength enough to keep believing that the best of times might still be.
