Why is there war? Do you ever wonder? When I was five years old, my dad went overseas to Thailand during the Vietnam war. War meant that I would not see my dad for a year. Not coincidentally, it was one of the hardest years of my life. For my dad, war meant a year away from our mom and us, his three sons. At the same time my sweet grandmother fought and lost a battle against Melanoma. I learned the meaning of death that year.
War is not new. In Abram’s day, kings went off to war. After all these years, I don’t know much about these kings, or the places they ruled. We may read this part fast, thinking it is like the first round of the NCAA tournament. Four of them are going up against four of them. In this case, one king was oppressing the others for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, when the oppressed could take it no longer, they rebelled. This is how the war started.
I think I know more about the wars in our world today. I hear about Russia invading Ukraine, Hamas attacking Israel, and conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On paper, we see people going up against people. But the reasons may not be obvious to us. I have learned in recent weeks how complex relationships between groups of people can be. I discovered in recent weeks that more powerful nations are still encouraging conflicts between people to accomplish their own nefarious goals. All is not as it seems.
Lurking in the shadows, behind the slippery causes and effects, there are other forces at work. No wonder Paul told the Ephesians, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Humans are casualties of cosmic conflicts.
How can we bring peace to a world at war? My friends have ministries bringing peace to war-torn parts of the world. Jesus pointed the way when he said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you.” To this minute, Jesus is the key to peace. Thomas Merton said, “To love is to will the good of another.” Think of the person who is on the outs with you just now. Perhaps they are not speaking to you or you to them. What if one or both of you willed the good of the other? What if we acted to bring good to the person who thinks of us as their enemies?
Carefully consider: with whom do you have continuing conflict? What if we forgave a wrong and offered peace? I know. This could be risky. Some people cannot be trusted. True. But this means that when I act in a trustworthy way, I offer a new opportunity. We can’t make others accept our proffer of peace. But we offer it anyway. Let’s covenant together to love first and freely. God can take care of the rest.
