Peace

Throughout the world, many people today yearn and hope for peace, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall. Our attention and concern centre on Ukraine and the Middle East just now, but there are more wars in the world than we realise, some lasting for years. Much high-level diplomacy and complex negotiations continue, with repeated efforts to get opposing sides to agree even to a ceasefire. Still, in the meantime, we can pray while we wait to see the final outcomes. But it’s a just and lasting peace that’s needed, not just a patch-up without dealing with the root causes of the conflicts.

 

For too long now, we have looked with sadness and dismay at scenes of destruction, brutality and suffering. The causes lie deep and are as old as history. The Bible reminds us that it is all rooted in man’s selfishness, jealousy and pride. If we are honest enough to look within, that’s something each of us can be guilty of, a refusal to “love our neighbour as ourselves”, as Jesus said, even to love our enemies. That is how He loved us, and He still loves us despite our failures and sins: “God commends His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5.8). There is no greater love than this! 

 

We can refuse this love or receive it with gladness. If we receive it, we will enter a real and lasting peace with God. Those who accept Jesus as their own Savior and Lord are “justified by faith, and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5.1). Peace between warring nations seems so challenging to achieve, but here and now, we can have peace with God for ourselves.

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Is God brutal?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Many people today think that God was brutal and ugly in the Old Testament and that thankfully, Jesus arrived on the scene in the New Testament to rescue His reputation. Getting our attitudes about God straight is very important. It is tough to love and follow a ruthless God with His power and abuse in His relationships. It is bad enough that some people have dads like that, let alone a Father in heaven who perpetuates the problem.

So, here is the good news. Take a deep breath. We do not need to feel that way about God anymore! When the real God stands up in the Old Testament, His actions and attitudes consistently exhibit an unusual depth of grace in the face of deep offences against Him and His law.

Tragedies - who is ultimately to blame?

We often hear of tragedies! They shock us and often produce an impulsive reaction. Earlier this year we heard the horrific news that an alligator had dragged a two-year-old boy into a lake at Walt Disney World. Disney closed all the beaches at its resorts. More than fifty law-enforcement personnel searched the lake. They eventually found the boy's body and presume that he drowned.

Some blamed Disney for not posting signs warning about alligators in the water. Others were quick to blame the parents. As with the boy who fell into a gorilla pit in Cincinnati, people on social media lambasted the mother and father who allowed their son to play in the water.

Why do we feel such a need to assign blame when tragedy strikes?

According to the United Nations, 437,000 people around the world were murdered in 2012 (their most recent report). However, National Geographic reports that 725,000 people die every year from diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Freshwater snails transmit schistosomiasis, which kills between 20,000 and 200,000 a year. Annually, snakes kill 94,000 to 125,000; scorpions kill 3,250; sharks kill six people. And there's no one to accuse for any of these tragedies.

It's human nature to blame others so we can maintain the illusion of safety for ourselves. I can say that I wouldn't have allowed my children into the Disney lagoon, but how many other times did I unknowingly put them at risk?

Obviously we should prevent every tragedy we can. But we should also admit that much of life is beyond our control:

•    "You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes", James 4:14.
•    "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring",
Proverbs 27:1.
•    "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble", Matthew 6:34.

The same law of gravity that enables us to walk causes us harm when we fall. Alligators are essential to the Florida ecosystem but dangerous to humans. We cannot have natural laws without the consequences of these laws.

So control what you can and trust your Father for what you cannot. Make sure that the biggest danger in life, death, is covered so that when the unexpected happens you are safe.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Acts 16:31.

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