Peace

War is a terrible. How many times have we heard some semblance of that over the last couple of years. Of course, the devastating effects of combat and conflict are life altering and carry enormous consequences. But, the goal is peace and democracy. Our national political and military leaders daily sift through hordes of intelligence, assess our capabilities, and devise strategies to introduce peace into a geography that has long been unsettled. I'm no genius, but I think our first step is to understand what peace truly is.

As I am sure most of you know, our Sunday School class has been studying "Embracing the Love of God" by James Bryan Smith. This past week we read a chapter titled God's Care. In it Smith states that,"Peace is not the absence of strife, but the presence of Christ." How many celebrities have we read about who seemingly have it all? They bank millions per movie, run with the "it" crowd, have beautiful and successful families, but get caught up in drugs or fringe religious groups like Kabbala? They leave their spouse for a new beginning or someone else? Generally speaking, they have no strife, but lack peace.

Should we as a nation try and instill the virtues of Christ into the Middle East? I don't believe so. That is not the purpose of a government, especially one that represents a melting pot of faiths. Churches and Christians are called to take their faith into the world, not political entities. I do believe, however, that we should pray that our leaders find peace through Christ to guide their decision making processes. I pray that citizens of the arab world see Christ in others who will be frequenting their region for business, pleasure, missions, etc. and through them find the peace they long for.

We had a discussion in our youth group high school juniors class last Wednesday night about knowing which religion among the world is "right", especially since several of the predominant world religions branched off from the tribes of Abraham. Ultimately, I am confident in this. The scriptures in the Christian Bible have withstood intense scrutiny from every corner of this planet. Hundreds of prophecies foretold centuries before the birth of Christ were realized through Him. My God is not one of coincidence! As Bryan points out in referencing John 16:33, Jesus said,"In the world you face persecution. But take courage;I have conquered the world." I believe that our mission is not to "convert" others to Christ, contrary to many Christian denominations. In my opinion, it is our call to seek Christ and allow others to experience Him through us and find eternal peace.