In a symbolic gesture in St. Peter's Square last week, Pope
Francis released two doves of peace after praying for peace in the Ukraine.
Then (symbolically), the just-released doves were attacked by a black crow and
a sea gull. Short of a few feathers, the doves broke free and flew
away, their ultimate fate unknown. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting picture of failed attempts at peacemaking. From the birth of civilization to the present, the world suffers violence. So, nations seek peace. Leaders negotiate for it. Millions pray for it. Militaries fight for it. Imagine a leader who could promise world peace.
But that won't happen until Christ returns: “The government shall be upon His shoulder; and His Name shall be called the Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His peace there shall be no end…” (Isa. 9:6-7). Ignorant of this, however, the world's quest for peace continues, until the arrival of a false man of peace, the Antichrist (Dan. 8:25) who will swoop down like a bird of prey on people who are as naïve as doves.
Good morning Greg,
ReplyDeleteI concur. No God. No peace. Know God. Know peace. As long as people believe that they can negotiate (and war is just the most violent expression of political / business willpower) peace without a moral compass that is absolute, without a clear idea of the best end and most sure means of attaining it, in essence, without God, then all that will be established will be something that lasts only until people can demonstrate their selfishness.
Though I am grateful that God is sovereign, I am still mindful that though we own responsibility. What tension there is in that connection!
Godspeed!
Larry
with sin-centered and self-centered people, peace is impossible because peace between two people involves giving up. And no one wants to do that, but to assert their rights.
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