Tuesday, October 05, 2004
I am a member of a traditional peace church, but I have long struggled with this issue. Jesus said there will be wars and rumors of war and then the end will come. Translation, (at least to my mind) is that war is inevitable. When we protest war we are protesting against the inevitable. Going further, there will be no peace until Jesus returns. Romans 13 seems to tell us that the government is the instrument of God's wrath, which seems at least on the surface to say that the government's job is to keep order. If this is the case, the government seems to have a job to do.
Now if there will be no peace until the Lord returns, then it would seem that the answer to bringing the peace that we all desire is that the Lord would return. When will he return? No one knows but again, it appears from the Word of God that Jesus will not return until the whole world has heard the Gospel. So what's the answer? I maintain that if we want real peace, the answer is found in missions and evangelism and isn't that what Jesus called the church to do anyway.
I do love my enemies, I can't make anyone else do that, but I can share the love of Jesus and help people find peace with God. When they find peace with God and the Holy Spirit comes to live in his or her heart, won't that change his outlook and help him to live at peace and love his neighbor? And if the body of Christ prayed and shared Jesus and reached people for Jesus, wouldn't that bring peace, one soul at a time? Maybe it's time we laid down our protest signs and took up our crosses. No Jesus, no peace!
Lastly, it always blows my mind that we are so quick to march against a war far away and yet we have much dissension in our pews that is going unattended. Jesus also said they will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another. I also wonder how much love we are showing to the military people in our midst. If the pacifist people are right about their stand on war, it would seem to me that they would be busting down the doors to become military chaplains leading these people from a life of sin to the truth that will set them free. I guess it's easier to carry a sign. Remember Jesus commended a Roman soldier for his great faith. Let's get back to doing our job, sharing the Gospel.
Now if there will be no peace until the Lord returns, then it would seem that the answer to bringing the peace that we all desire is that the Lord would return. When will he return? No one knows but again, it appears from the Word of God that Jesus will not return until the whole world has heard the Gospel. So what's the answer? I maintain that if we want real peace, the answer is found in missions and evangelism and isn't that what Jesus called the church to do anyway.
I do love my enemies, I can't make anyone else do that, but I can share the love of Jesus and help people find peace with God. When they find peace with God and the Holy Spirit comes to live in his or her heart, won't that change his outlook and help him to live at peace and love his neighbor? And if the body of Christ prayed and shared Jesus and reached people for Jesus, wouldn't that bring peace, one soul at a time? Maybe it's time we laid down our protest signs and took up our crosses. No Jesus, no peace!
Lastly, it always blows my mind that we are so quick to march against a war far away and yet we have much dissension in our pews that is going unattended. Jesus also said they will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another. I also wonder how much love we are showing to the military people in our midst. If the pacifist people are right about their stand on war, it would seem to me that they would be busting down the doors to become military chaplains leading these people from a life of sin to the truth that will set them free. I guess it's easier to carry a sign. Remember Jesus commended a Roman soldier for his great faith. Let's get back to doing our job, sharing the Gospel.
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