Week 4 Day 1 Devotions
Make Peace
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him,
“for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
Matthew 26:52
Once again we find ourselves looking at the story of Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed and we remember how the crowd came for Him armed with swords and clubs. The spectre of violence was never far from Jesus and is never far from us living as we do in the twenty first century. How do we respond to violence? At the time of writing, there are not only wars currently being fought but there are also rumours of war and fears of localised skirmishes turning into all-out war. Many nations are all too quick to draw the sword. Never mind international issues, we live in a world under the threat of terrorism which can happen anywhere and anytime with no particular place seemingly immune. Added to this, in many places violent crime is on the increase; in fact not just violent crime but meaningless acts of violence seem to be on the increase. At the time of writing, on the national news last night was not one but two stories of acts of violence in local schools, in one instance leading to the death of a schoolboy and in the other to the hospitalisation of a boy preparing to write matric exams. Acts of domestic violence don't even make it into the news any more unless they are particularly gruesome. Surely it is time to “put the sword back in its place.”
Resorting to violence, drawing the sword, whether the sword be physical, emotional, or verbal, is not an option for born-again Christians. Killing innocent civilians in your country because you have killed innocent civilians in my country is not an option. Lashing out at you because you have lashed out at me is not an option. There is already too much anger in the world without born-again Christians adding to it.
We are called to be peacemakers. Notice we are not called to be peace-lovers or peace-keepers as much as we are called to be peacemakers. Peacemaking is hard work and it can be dangerous work. It might sometimes appear that the peacemaker is taking sides and this can cause him or her to end up being in the firing line. The truth is that peacemakers are really only taking the side of God and the Prince of Peace.
Is God calling you to “put away the sword” today, or is God calling you to be the peacemaker in your home, your school, your workplace or anywhere in the world around you?
Make peace.
Oh Lord, help me this day and always to choose the way of peace.
