According to my Google feed and Facebook reminders, today is International Day of Peace. According to ibtimes.com: “The UN inducted the peaceful holiday back in 1981, devoting the day to 'commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.'”
As I ponder the events of the last few days, peace would not be a word used to describe the atmosphere around them. No, don’t stop reading because you think I am going to get all political and discuss racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement or defend the police departments or any other such arena. Bear with me for just a couple of minutes, will you, please? I’ll try to not keep you too long.
What strikes me the most here lately--if I was using a word to define it--is that there is an air of non-concern, of aloofness. Not that folks aren’t participating in debates, riots, and so on. But rather, that there just does not seem to be any accountability for actions that we all choose to partake of. We profess to being a Christian nation and yet our actions are showing that this quality just isn’t measuring up. Our peoples, our friends, our families, neighbors, churches, and places of employment are divided. Few agree on who is right, who’s wrong, and who needs to change. Finger-pointing has reached an all-time high as--again--we profess to being Christians but...our fruit baskets are empty.
We can’t just say the words that are politically correct, friends. We can’t in public declare one thing while behind closed doors we’re plotting on one another. Instead, we should be praying for one another, for healing, for peace, and for unity. We can’t just say we are “Christians” and then perform acts that must make our Lord bow His precious head in shame.
Are you familiar with this verse, the one pictured? I’ve heard it for most of my life and must admit to feeling fearful each time. It’s from James 2:19 and reads as follows:
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Why aren’t we trembling, brothers and sisters? Why aren’t we shaking in our boots at what is going on in our nation, in our schools, communities, and yes, in our homes? Why aren’t we at the bare minimum giving God due diligence and standing with Him as we strive to figure this vapor of life out and how to live peaceably with one another? For when all is said and done, that’s all that will be left: a faint disturbance of air where we once were. Dissolving into the wind, and leaving behind a trace of...of what? A sweet-smelling savor? Oh, God! How I hope to! Rather than the stench of an unpleasant odor, may my life be one where someone remarks to another, “Did you smell that? Its fragrance reminds me of...of...of flowers. Sunshine. Love. Happiness.”
And may the one spoken to reply “Oh yes! I know what you mean! It’s been too long since that scent has been around. Reminds me of better times when all was right with the world--or at least my world--because Stefanie was in it.”
Okay, okay. Stop queuing up “You’re So Vain.” I’m really not. I’m just on a mission to matter, to make a difference, to motivate others to good works, as I’ve been instructed to do. Lesson’s over for today, class. For your homework, I want you to consider the heart of the matter, today on International Day of Peace. Love one another. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you’d have done unto you. Yep: you have to make the first move. If peace is to have a chance, it’s got to begin with you. Stop following the crowd and lead by example. Who knows? You might just one day have a movement named after you!
Let’s pray!
Oh Father, what a jumbled mess this blog is today. Too many thoughts are running through my mind, jockeying for position as I endeavor to share the key point of why we Americans aren’t trembling, why we aren’t afraid of the consequences of our actions, of knowing You are watching our every move, reading our every thought, and waiting to see if our salvation is true or if self-reliance is going to rule our lives. We say we’re Yours, Father, but we act like...dare I say it? Bastards. We act like we’ve never heard the truth taught to us for so long. We damage and destroy lives and property, fighting for “our rights” as humans--regardless of our skin color, social status, or citizenship.
Have we forgotten this world is not our home, that we are all pilgrims, aliens? Have we learned so little, Lord, that we think we are entitled to what belongs to another?
Oh Lord!
I cry out to You for mercy on my nation, on my neighbours, but mostly on me. May I tremble with reverent fear as I await Your deliverance, Lord. May I love better than ever before. You are God. Alone. You are in control even when the world’s events seem to be so off-kilter. You’ve got us, Lord, the ones Who you called. How I hope our election may somehow find favor in Your eyes as we all purpose to do better, to love You above all others, and then? And then to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray these things, Lord God. Amen.
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