The last week has witnessed tensions rise around the world as the results of attacks in Paris, Beirut and on the Sinai Peninsula. The atrocities which have been carried out cause us to question what is the best way to respond to terror. There are many people who are far more qualified than I am to look at the global and national ramifications of the circumstances in which we now found ourselves. However, at a personal and communal level we need to reflect on whether these events should change how we live and what we believe. There can be a tendency to respond with equal or greater force, to seek revenge and to allow our opinions to coloured by mistrust and suspicion. As followers of Christ we are not immune from the events present in the world but we are called to be formed in the image and likeness of God. We are called to be people who create life, facilitate hope and act with charity. We are called to be people who in our earthly life seek to honour the commandment given to Jesus to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul and to love our neighbour as ourselves. This is central to our Christian faith and the way we are called to live. This cannot be taken as an optional extra it is foundational to how we are called to live in relationship with others especially at times when our hearts seem to be torn in two.
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