Restoration
People in the Streets

by Darris McNeely

Recent scenes of citizens taking to the streets to express themselves have stirred the imagination of many. A few weeks ago the citizens of Ukraine marched in an "Orange Revolution" to protest the heavy hand of a government that did not want to abide by recent elections. They forced another election that had to be respected, and the result is a change in government and a hope for better times.

On Jan. 30 Iraqis went to the polls, under great threat from terrorists, to cast ballots for a new government. It was a historic event for that country to take part in elections with this much freedom.

Recent days have seen Lebanese in the streets protesting Syrian interference in their country's affairs. On Feb. 14 former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated by a bomb blast as he drove through the streets of Beirut. It is widely suspected that Syria was responsible since Hariri had called for Syria to cease its influence in his country. Syria has had a presence in Lebanon since 1989.

One Lebanese leader had to compare scenes of Lebanese protest with the fall of the Berlin Wall more than 15 years ago.

There have even been reports of Egyptians marching in Cairo protesting the long autocratic rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

It is the scene of people, common people, rising against tyranny and unjust government. It is a picture of people yearning for freedom to live and to love in peace and dignity, without another human depriving them that privilege.

Regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion or sex, the great human need is freedom. It has been and will always be at the core of events that shape the experience of man on this planet.

Freedom is the great gift God gave to humanity when He placed two ways of life, symbolized by the two trees of Genesis 2, before Adam and Eve at the beginning. They had freedom to choose.

Freedom lies at the heart of our relationship with God, the Creator. And we see this innate need springing up at what may be an interesting juncture of history.

The people in the streets of Kiev, Baghdad, Beirut and Cairo are reacting to oppression, greed and misgovernment. They may not replace it with anything better—history shows that humans rarely do. But these expressions of freedom may trigger reactions and other far-reaching events that could reshape our world. They are occurring in two regions, Europe and the Middle East, that will play critical roles in Bible prophecy. History has shown that all it takes is a small, even unintended, event to trigger larger events of global significance.

We have to applaud the common man and woman who take a stand for freedom. This cry of the heart is a reflection of what Paul wrote about in Romans 8:22, a creation that "...groans and labors with birth pangs..." while it suffers under the bondage of corruption. Real liberty will come with Jesus Christ when He restores a just government based on the eternal laws of His Kingdom.

Then will freedom—true freedom based on godly righteousness—be brought to all nations.

 

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