I am a child of the 60's, one of the first generation to get a daily dose of war with the 6 0'clock news. I became pacifist in my thinking at a very early age. It was not popular thinking either in my house or out of it.Many think that if you are pacifist, or anti~war, or non~militant you lack respect for those who have fought & died in the name of freedom but that is not so. Many people equate pacifism with inertia but again that is not the case. True peace has to be won but violence is the refuge of the powerless & the weak. The truly strong have no need to force themselves on others. Nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than within ourselves. If we truly want peace it begins with ourselves, one person & the way they relate to their husband, their children, their neighbours & their community.
It is frightening the amount of violence I harbour within myself. It is frightening to recognise how little genuine love I display in my relations with other people. How on earth can there be global peace when even within our families, amongst those we declare we love the most, there is a lack of love, a lack of respect, bad temper, ill feeling, selfishness?
When I meditate on peace what immediately springs to mind are Jesus' words: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Obedient even unto death Jesus is the living example of perfect love casting out all fear. He was secure in who He was, where He was going & to whom He belonged. It gave Him deep inner peace. From that calm centre He could act in love with no need to force His will on any other, even in the face of the most awful personal abuse. It is a lesson Maximillian Kolbe also learnt. You remember him ~ the Catholic priest who took the death place of a stranger in Auschwitz, offering prayer & comfort to the others condemned with him before being murdered with carbolic acid? Corrie ten Boom learnt it too when she came face to face with her camp commandant many years later.
At the heart of peace lies forgiveness, forgiveness of others for being less than perfect, forgiveness for failures in love, & the acknowledgement that all men have been created in the image of God & for that reason alone are deserving of love & respect without violence.
I do not believe I will see global peace. I don't think anyone will. The bible warns of wars & rumours of wars, of things getting worse, more violent, greedier, more selfish before the end but that in no wise removes my personal responsibility to live a life founded on love & peace. I may not do it perfectly but I will do it as well as I can.
17 comments:
Very thoughtful post.
I believe that as a Christian, I ought to live a life of peace and forgiveness as you have said. But I wouldn't call myself a pacifist, because I am convinced that a government has the obligation (if not the 'right') to enforce laws and punish evil doers.
MamaO, I actually agree with you. There have to be laws & God says he puts the rulers in their positions BUT...I do not believe militant thinking, especially as regards other countries, is wise, sensible or godly. Our govt., is starting to bring our boys home from Iraq this week & that is a move in the right direction I think.
That's true. The military of any lawful nation ought to be for self-defense rather than offense, though strategically it is sometimes hard to tell the difference.
nice peace post...
My Peace post in here Thanks
As long as we live in this fallen world, we will always see others wanting to impose their will over otthers through any means possible!
I will always remember something my sweet mother said to me. She grew up under the Nazi Regime and said,
"I am thankful that others chose to get involved and not turn away because they didn't think it involved them."
Sometimes the best defense is still a strong offense!
Have yourself a lovely day today!
Connie
I understand, Connie, but I prefer the Ten Boom's approach...it is a very complicated issue about which I can personally do very little so I stay with what I can do & try to cultivate inner peace so that I may act peaceably...& who can say what I would do if one of my children was threatened. I can't stop wars but I can love my neighbour, so that is where I begin.
If everybody could find their inner peace, that would be a good start in my opinion...
Have a peaceful day and let love rule! :o)
Very, very well said. It does begin with me. Peace to you and yours. :)
Great to see you on board and what a nice Globe!
Mine is up too :-)
Hello from Norway - peace to you and the one you love!
"The truly strong have no need to force themselves on others." - what a great line. May all our dreams of peace come true.
Hi,
You are right to say that Peace belongs to each of us, and we can everyday do small steps to nudge it on.Little by little, with each one's strenghts & of course weaknesses...
Peace be upon you and all those who come to this blog.
I can't stop wars but I can love my neighbour, so that is where I begin.
When you get down to the very core of something, the answers are always so very basic, aren't they. :-)
Great post for Peace. :)
Thanks for the thoughtful post. I think that peace can be found in Christ. We obviously can't force this on anyone, but one day He will come again, and then I believe that we will finally see peace.
I believe that we can only make progress toward peace when we can celebrate the diversity of culture, spirituality, and beliefs in people throughout the world.
This is a wonderful post. Peace to you and yours.
ganeida... i agree with you- 'nuff said.
Forgiveness - at the core - is the key. Well done.
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