READ: ESTHER 5-7
And so, Queen Esther replied, “If Your Majesty is pleased with me and wants to grant my request, my petition is that my life and the lives of my people will be spared.” (V. 7:3)
Entering the classroom at the Drug Enforcement Training Center in Quantico, Virginia, my first thought was— “these students look so young.” Young men, many just out of high school, were being trained to take leadership roles within the Colombian National Police Force. They were being provided enhanced training in the US as they prepared to work closely with the DEA in their home country. They would be helping to interdict the profitable flow of drugs coming from the mountains and jungles of their homeland. The money was being used to enhance the power and position of powerful drug cartels and political insurgents threating the stability of Columbia. While I had taught classes of other countries national police officers, my instinct told me this class was going to quite different from my past experiences.
The class on Human Dignity and Ethics is given toward the end of their thirteen-week training program and does not normally generate and overwhelming amount of interest. The participants are always quite respectful, but their true feelings are expressed through their body language and strained facial expressions. While they acknowledge the importance of human dignity and ethics, they work in countries where the first order of business is to survive. However, the young men and women from Columbia were lively class participants and quite receptive to the material as they hoped and worked for a better future. They openly shared personal stories of the dangers they and their families faced as a result of their conscious decision to serve as Police Officers. Inadequate pay and benefits were nothing to the ever-present terror and death they faced at work and at home (family members kidnapped or murdered was a continual theme). Yet they remained undaunted and committed to their service. Yes, these were special people answering a call from God!
During the break, before my colleague and I would bid the class farewell, their commander informed us that 50% of the class would be killed within a year of arriving back home. Stunned, my emotions were running over when it was my turn to say good-bye. In my limited Spanish I told them, “Via con Dios—Go with God.” I then proceeded to shake every hand and look directly into every set of eyes to show my respect. This class lived up to my expectations. It was truly different as they taught me real life lessons in courage, service and fulfillment of God’s purpose. I pray God would reverse the 50% death rate as I recall their young smiling faces.
Thinking of these Colombian National Police Officers, I think of how Esther and Mordecai were chosen by God and placed in Persia to protect the Jewish people. They risked their very lives to serve God in roles that demanded the utmost courage as they worked to save the Jewish people from mass extermination by the Persian Empire. The parallels to the Holocaust and other events that have transpired in the world are striking and I thank God for bringing forth faithful people to transform the world.
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Where is God calling you to serve with faithful courage?
Dear God, bless all those who serve you with unbridled courage and honor today and forevermore