Politicians and religious leaders spend a lot of time and effort attempting to bring 'peace in our times'. Lasting peace is elusive and impossible purely by human effort and ingenuity. Most people fail to see that if they don't deal with the underlying causes of unrest, the problem will never be identified, and peace will never be created.
Our approach to producing peace often fails to dig deep enough. Jeremiah, the ancient prophet of Israel, faced this shallow approach to peace. He wrote on more than one occasion, 'Peace, peace when there is no peace?' Jer 6.14, Jer 8.11. People then, as in our day, were looking at life in a very superficial way. They had treated the word of God with contempt by ignoring what it said. The reason there was no peace was the sinful lifestyles of people. The same is true today. We cannot expect to have peace when we break the moral code of God (as nations, families and individuals) and flagrantly ignore the principles that are for our good. Scripture says, 'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people,' Prov. 14. 34.
A simplistic approach to achieving peace will never be enough. The Bible predicts a day when a man who is outstanding in his ability to solve global problems and bring peace to the world will rise on the world stage. This man will ultimately create and manage a system without any reference to God and the law of Moses. The world will be seduced and convinced that he is the man they have been waiting for. But he is not the real deal. The peace he offers will be built on a shaky foundation and quickly collapse. Listen again to the prophetic words of scripture - 'When they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape,' 1 Thess. 5.3. World leaders currently are struggling to cope with the issues of war, social change, poverty etc, so it is easy to see why this leader will be so compelling and convincing. But, his peace deal will be deceptive and not based on the true moral values set by the creator, God.
Peace starts in the human heart. All of our troubles find their genesis in the morally defective heart of the human. Homo Sapiens rejected God and his morals a long time ago, and the consequences are long-standing and well-documented. The good book says - 'Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned,' Rom. 5. 12. Our lack of peace, our constant tendency towards to conflict, aggression and brokenness is because of our fallen, flawed nature. We cannot achieve lasting peace in any scenario (nationally, ethnically, relationally, commercially) until the root cause of breaking God's moral code is addressed.
But the good news is that the price for peace has already been paid. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus' made peace through the blood of his cross' and as a result, he will ultimately 'reconcile all things unto himself,' Col. 1. 20. The death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the only payment that the Law-giver, God, will accept to reverse the consequences of human rebellion and to bring about lasting peace. This peace is presently felt by individuals when they repent of their sins and receive the Lord Jesus as the 'Prince of Peace'. Eventually, it will be seen and implemented across the globe when He comes back and rules this planet in peace.
Radical, you say - you are right, very radical. But that is what it will take to bring peace to a worn, torn, broken world.
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