My heart breaks. . .

. . .to wake each morning to reports of yet another night of violence in France. 'Surely,' I think each night, 'tonight will be the last.' And yet by the time I sleep each night, ordinary people are waking outside (and now inside) Paris, Lyon, even Bordeaux, Marseille, and St.-Etienne, to find their cars burned, their markets and their historic sites pillaged. Rioting has spread to Brussels, to Berlin, and many other major cities in Europe with large immigrant "ghettos".

Many of us who have lived in Europe have wondered what has kept the lid on the powder kegs for so long. But seeing the problems "up close" and shaking our heads at policies that seemed destined to light the fuses doesn't make me any less heartsick for those who will pay the price for those policies. May a gracious God use the chaos and fear in the hearts of men, women, and children to turn their hearts toward Him. And may those of us whose first thought might be a sneer be tempered by compassion...