Part VI: Peace Within the Tumult

Who Put the Vinegar in the Salt

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men”

(Matthew 5:13NIV).

Recently in the news:

Norway: a man hunts down and kills innocent campers, mostly young people. 
China and the United States are embroiled in a Cyber Cold War.

An Army soldier who had been granted conscientious objector status because of his Muslim faith has been arrested near Fort Hood, Tex., after authorities allegedly found bombmaking materials in his motel room.

An endless parade of man’s inhumanity toward man.

We cry for that increasingly elusive peace, assigning blame everywhere: our schools, parents, the economy, the Internet, guns, whatever buzz word seems contrary to the mission of peace. Tossing blame is like trying to mop a dirty floor with milk, adding a layer of stickiness to filth.   The Church is not immune to finger-pointing, either, in America and in other traditionally religious nations.   

Last year, atheist Italian judge, Luigi Tosti, actively sought to have the crucifix removed from public gathering places. He believed the symbol violated religious freedom. “I  want to challenge the crucifix being a symbol of morality….We must consider that the swastika for example is a symbol of negative values because Nazis are responsible for the death of six million people, of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals. And if we evaluate the history of Christianity, we are not talking about 6 million people killed, but of 100 million people killed, tortured, ghettoized in its 1,800 years history…”

Such ramblings are becoming common place. In view of the attacks, many Christians have succumbed to fear, understandably so. Yet, I wonder. If we surrender to our fear, are we in danger of repeating the very offenses that give credence to these attacks?  Some say, “But if we do nothing, we will lose our freedom.” But what is the something we must do?

As I wrestle with my Christian responsibility to a world that has run amok, I wonder, is our time so different? I believe the prophet Habakkuk’s words apply today as they did then. He preached before the fall of Judah, in a time of significant moral decadence, perversity, and when war ravaged a nation. He complains to the Lord, questioning his call and purpose. No one listens. Nothing seems to change. “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflict abounds” (Habakkuk 1:3 NIV).

“I’m working on it,” God says. He reassures Habakkuk that his plan is the best. Though there will come a time of punishment, Judah will ultimately be restored. Finally, the prophet, though still incredulous as to God’s methods, comes to an irrefutable conclusion: even if he is left with nothing, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:18). He realizes that peace does not rest in nations, but in God.

Just as love, goodness, and mercy generate from the Lord, so does Peace. I believe, he stands ready, as he did then, to replace uncertainty with assurance. He will guide our hearts, our hands, our feet, and our wills toward His perfect Peace.

¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14 NIV).