Over 70 years of civil war, longest running in the world, have left Burma one of the poorest countries in the world. During this time, successive military dictatorships killed thousands of their own people and displaced millions in resistance areas, … Continued

“LOVE EACH OTHER. UNITE AND WORK FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE, AND PEACE. FORGIVE AND DON’T HATE EACH OTHER. PRAY WITH FAITH, ACT WITH COURAGE, NEVER SURRENDER.” The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement working to bring help, … Continued

Join Us on 9 March for the Global Day of Prayer for Burma

Click above to read the Day of Prayer

Dear Friends,

Can we love others as we love our children? Can we love our enemies as if they were our children? Can we love the Burma Army? In the story of Adam and Eve their son Cain kills Abel. There were consequences. However, Adam and Eve did not kill the remaining son, Cain in punishment. 

Later on, King David faced the rebellion of his son. Absalom took over the royal city, committed evil and then came out with an army to kill his own father and those with him. King David rallied his own army to stop this attack but told his men not to kill his son. In the battle, Absalom’s forces were defeated and he was killed despite the king’s orders. King David was dis-traught and heartbroken and had to be reminded by his men that more people were at stake, not just his rebellious son. King David understood but was overcome with grief.

From then until now, people have been killing each other. And, from then until now, the idea of killing our
own children is so horrible we can’t even think about it. If I would never hurt my own children, how can I
hurt someone else’s? 

My father told me after he served in the Korean War that sometimes you may need to stop a man’s heart with a bullet, but you can never change a man’s heart with a bullet. Dad said, “I want to be working with God to change people’s hearts with the love of Jesus.” That is the same mission of the Free Burma Rangers. Our mission is to share Jesus’s love, help people, and get the news out. It is not to fight or kill.

At the same time, we have faced people doing great evil, such as ISIS who were killing men, women, and children right in front of us and attacking us as well. In some cases, we have fought back. The same has been true in Burma. We are now in the 74th year of war in Burma and the last three years since the coup have been the most intense: over 3.5 million displaced in these last few years, and thousands killed. We have lost many of our friends and the suffering is great in Burma. The dictators are supported by Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and other countries as they slaughter their own people. The people of Burma have stood up and fighting has intensified. The pro-democracy forces are fighting and killing Burma Army troops. As we encourage them to pray for their enemies it also makes us ask the question: how can we be willing to kill another person’s child, if we would never kill our own? This is something that I’ve struggled with in thought and prayer.

God made it clear to me years ago in Burma that nothing truly precious is eternally lost. We will see
each other again because of the love of Jesus. This knowledge makes room for forgiveness.

I remember the words of my professor, Chuck Kraft, at Fuller Seminary: “You can live well with sorrow, but you can’t live well with shame.” When we share our sorrow, we can comfort each other. Jesus can take away our shame by forgiving us – and when we forgive those who have wronged us, we can have a part in taking away their shame and helping open a door to redemption for them. 

For us and most of you, dear readers, most of the time we are not fighting people physically, but we all are in some form of battle with people who have hurt or betrayed us. We can ask Jesus, “What do I do now?” God has helped me to ask, what would I do if it was my child who just hurt me? When we’re trying to help our children who have done something wrong, we pray for love and wisdom to be able to stand firmly on the truth in love and also in justice. 

Something I learned in the battle against ISIS and here in Burma is this: love is the difference between revenge and justice. The only way we get justice is with love, love for the perpetrator and the victim. Justice is born of love and forgiveness and builds up; revenge is born of hate and shame, and destroys. Justice is our responsibility. Revenge will destroy us and not bring about justice or healing. 

When we’ve been badly hurt, Jesus can supernaturally help us forgive and move towards justice. If we allow it, He will fill us with His love for everyone involved. In love, we give discipline and punishment to our children to stop them from doing the wrong thing and build them up. As we pray to God for love for our enemies, He will give us that love and help us see our enemies as if they were our children. God will help us know when and how to take a stand. 

We pray for the Burma military as if they were our children. We thank God for the opportunities to treat wounded Burma soldiers and carry them to safety. We thank Him for the time young Rangers donated their own blood to a wounded Burman soldier who just minutes before was trying to kill them. We thank Jesus that we have had chances to pray with Burma Army soldiers and tell them who He is. These acts of love offer hope for redemption for these soldiers who are stained by the shameful evil they’ve taken part in. 

In all our lives, there may be a time to fight physically, legally, or some other way, but we always need to remember, we could be fighting our own children. That other person we’re fighting is always someone’s child. May God help us remember that, see our own sins and faults in the situation, and forgive others just as we want God to forgive us. In the end, we are all children of God. 

Thank you so much for praying for and with us and for the people suffering in Burma, including the dictators and their army.

May God bless you,

Dave, Family, and The Free Burma Rangers