A Revolution of Peace
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring
peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34
The motto of the
Apollo II flight was "We came in peace for all mankind." This phrase was upon
the plaque deposited on the surface of the moon. The flight had landed on what
is known as the "Sea of Tranquility." Armstrong and Aldrin found a
tranquil and peaceful scene on the moon because there had never been any humans
there prior to them. No one before them had had a chance to disturb the moon.
Ministers Research Service has concluded that since 1919, the nations of Europe have signed more than two hundred treaties of peace. Each treaty, simply another scrap of paper, was broken more easily than consummated. From the years 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1860 more than eight-thousand treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time that they remained in effect was two years.
In his address to the United States Senate in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson said, "The League of Nations is the only hope of mankind." How futile and tragic such hope has proved to be! At this very moment the United States Navy is providing military escort to Kuwait oil tankers. It is a vain attempt to stabilize an area torn by war. And if you notice movies on Vietnam are becoming popular. Our world knows much about war and little about peace.
Look at your own life. Do you find peace there? Maybe you thought it would be more peaceful when school was out for you and you got a job. Perhaps you were waiting to retire or for the kids to grow up and move out. Maybe you are looking forward to, or recently have had, a vacation. Do you now have peace?
People who take vacations to find peace, then drive hundreds of miles, spend thousands of dollars, and still have a miserable time. Or let us consider those who buy "hideaways" only to find that they now have to drive up to the lake each weekend if for no other reason than to cut the grass and check to see that no one has broken in. Is that peace?
And then there are some people, of course, who do obtain a level of peace in their lives only to find it boring; you see we do not like the same, old, peaceful thing day after day. Is peace really the aim of Christianity? Is it the main object of the Christian religion to give you and me an undisturbed and placid life? Is that actually our goal?
It is not an undisturbed life that we want. Rather we realize that to live means to endure and overcome, to aspire and to attain. We obtain satisfaction in life not from "doing nothing," but rather from accomplishing life goals and spiritual goals.
The person who settles back and thinks that his religion has ever done its work on him because he is at peace may not understand what life or religion is all about. This does not mean that there are not plateaus where the thrill of accomplishing something benefits our state of mind. But peace does not mean doing nothing, it means being content with what we do. In the middle of a storm the clouds can be pretty.
In one sense Jesus brought no peace at all. He was a revolutionary. He rocked the social order of the day while he ate with sinners and outcasts. He had a concern for the poor that the religious establishment lacked. Those who thought they knew that religion was about rules and such did not enjoy Jesus telling them that the spiritual life is involved not with rules, but a general outlook on life, a certain attitude. Jesus did not do it right for them because he did not teach what they in their closed minds thought was religion. As a result of this there was certainly no outward peace in the land.
Jesus said that he came not to bring peace, but a sword. He came to divide families. He came to ask people to take up a cross and to follow him even to the death if necessary. Jesus came to employ a spiritual judo by allowing weakness to overcome strength.
It is not too far from the mark to say that today some people want peace at any cost. We run from conflict. We want unanimous agreement in our committees even if it means letting an ego maniac run things. We seem, at times, to be more afraid of what people think than concerned with what God desires. Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned fear of God?
Ministers Research Service has concluded that since 1919, the nations of Europe have signed more than two hundred treaties of peace. Each treaty, simply another scrap of paper, was broken more easily than consummated. From the years 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1860 more than eight-thousand treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time that they remained in effect was two years.
In his address to the United States Senate in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson said, "The League of Nations is the only hope of mankind." How futile and tragic such hope has proved to be! At this very moment the United States Navy is providing military escort to Kuwait oil tankers. It is a vain attempt to stabilize an area torn by war. And if you notice movies on Vietnam are becoming popular. Our world knows much about war and little about peace.
Look at your own life. Do you find peace there? Maybe you thought it would be more peaceful when school was out for you and you got a job. Perhaps you were waiting to retire or for the kids to grow up and move out. Maybe you are looking forward to, or recently have had, a vacation. Do you now have peace?
People who take vacations to find peace, then drive hundreds of miles, spend thousands of dollars, and still have a miserable time. Or let us consider those who buy "hideaways" only to find that they now have to drive up to the lake each weekend if for no other reason than to cut the grass and check to see that no one has broken in. Is that peace?
And then there are some people, of course, who do obtain a level of peace in their lives only to find it boring; you see we do not like the same, old, peaceful thing day after day. Is peace really the aim of Christianity? Is it the main object of the Christian religion to give you and me an undisturbed and placid life? Is that actually our goal?
It is not an undisturbed life that we want. Rather we realize that to live means to endure and overcome, to aspire and to attain. We obtain satisfaction in life not from "doing nothing," but rather from accomplishing life goals and spiritual goals.
The person who settles back and thinks that his religion has ever done its work on him because he is at peace may not understand what life or religion is all about. This does not mean that there are not plateaus where the thrill of accomplishing something benefits our state of mind. But peace does not mean doing nothing, it means being content with what we do. In the middle of a storm the clouds can be pretty.
In one sense Jesus brought no peace at all. He was a revolutionary. He rocked the social order of the day while he ate with sinners and outcasts. He had a concern for the poor that the religious establishment lacked. Those who thought they knew that religion was about rules and such did not enjoy Jesus telling them that the spiritual life is involved not with rules, but a general outlook on life, a certain attitude. Jesus did not do it right for them because he did not teach what they in their closed minds thought was religion. As a result of this there was certainly no outward peace in the land.
Jesus said that he came not to bring peace, but a sword. He came to divide families. He came to ask people to take up a cross and to follow him even to the death if necessary. Jesus came to employ a spiritual judo by allowing weakness to overcome strength.
It is not too far from the mark to say that today some people want peace at any cost. We run from conflict. We want unanimous agreement in our committees even if it means letting an ego maniac run things. We seem, at times, to be more afraid of what people think than concerned with what God desires. Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned fear of God?
But there is a peace
that passes all understanding that comes even to the Christian warrior. This peace comes by
allowing Christ to give us, in his love and grace, a still center in the middle
of the world's strife. This peace is reinforced as we turn to pursuing a life
of service to our King. We can be at peace with God even if the world turns
into shambles. It’s a revolution that
brings peace…and peace that brings a revolution.
Terry
Risser
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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