After two years of bloodshed since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023, the war in Gaza seems to be over. The living hostages are back home, as President Donald Trump and Hamas and Israel hammered out in a cease-fire agreement.
In that, all of us can rejoice, even if the peace will be fragile—and even though wounds from the loss of so many innocent lives, both Gazans and Israelis, will take decades if not centuries to heal. Christians around the world might be tempted to think this matter is now over, at least for us. Gaza, though, has more to do with our own gospel story than we might think.
It’s natural for people to pay more attention to a place when it’s somewhere they’ve lived. A missionary I know who worked in Africa for many years is especially attuned to news headlines about the continent in a way many others might miss. Even though I live in Nashville now, my ears perk up every time I hear any news from my hometown on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For Christians, Israel and Gaza are places we have "been"—since, by union with Christ, we are part of his story and thus the story of his ancestors (1 Corinthians 10v1–6).
The Middle East: Peace at last? A Christian perspective
Last week there was jubilation and relief as the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages were released from Gaza. In return, …