Thought for Today
Genesis 15:15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
Psalm 29:11 May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Peace “means societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.” (en.wikipedia.org)
This morning’s devotional in These Days is titled “The Race for Peace.” The author begins with “Waging peace takes much effort, whether it is peace in our hearts, peace with our next-door neighbor, or peace among nations.” The devotional includes words like tranquility calm. It speaks of living without fear, violence, hunger, or poverty.
I cannot imagine anyone truly being against peace. True, some find economic benefit in war. Others argue for ideas like “just war.” Some view war as an inevitable consequence of our humanity.
My generation was born during the last worldwide war. During our lifetimes we have seen almost constant warfare. Many of my generation had fathers or even older brothers who fought in WWII. When I was in elementary school, some of my classmates had fathers or brothers fighting in Korea. The war commonly associated with my generation is Vietnam. I worked with individuals who fought in each of those conflicts and with others who later fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. War has seemed an almost constant element in the lifetimes of my generation.
Has there ever been a generation where this was not so? God’s words to Abram in Genesis suggest to me that the absence of peace has been around for a very long time. The psalmist offers us a prayer for peace. But, the Prophet of Ecclesiastes wrote that there is “3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
As a Christian, I find Jesus’ words require that I think carefully about conflict and peace. Christians pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Christians should generally agree that God’s will is for peace. But, it’s never really that simple is it? Christians on both sides of the conflict in WWII struggled with reconciling the killing and destructive violence of war with praying for God’s will to be done. Is it possible to kill one of God’s children and still pray about doing God’s will? Can a Christian morally justify killing another of God’s children to somehow accomplish the greater good of preventing further murder and violence?
While I am asking unanswerable questions, is it possible to morally justify taking the life of another of God’s children through capital punishment? Capital punishment certainly eliminates recidivism. But, can it be reconciled with any of the 400+ references to peace in the Bible?
If Jesus did not come to bring peace to the earth, if Jesus brought a sword instead, what is the peace Jesus gave to his disciples and to us? Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” How does that work out? Aren’t most of our hearts troubled? Do not most of us, at certain times, face fear? If for no other reason, how can Christians reconcile Micah’s words about doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God with Jesus’ words about bringing a sword to the earth?
Jesus brought us the gospel message. John captured that message in John 3:16-17. God loved and still loves God’s Creation. God sent Jesus to show us the way, to accomplish our salvation through our faith in Jesus, in Jesus’ message and in Jesus’ redemptive love.
How are we, as Christians, to wage peace? We are to “Luke 10:27 love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." It is all about love. God’s love. Our love. We are to “Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Stay safe, wage God’s love, trust God,
Pastor Ray