War. It puts one against another. It robs people of peace, of freedom and of security. Two children that otherwise might play on a playground together, knowing nothing of the differences between one another, now years later seek to dominate the other in such a fashion that the other gives in totally. The Bible is full of battles that have a hardened story about them. War is about control, intolerance, my-way-or-the-highway. In the history of the United States, it has found our soil only in the early stages of the founding of this country. The American Revolution, the Civil War, these were so long ago, but what about now? What does war mean to us today?
Hear the Good News, truly, there are two
types of war, the war for self-interest and the war between good and evil.
The war self-interest is a war of humanity, but the war of Good and Evil is
a war for God. God is with those waging a battle against evil, against
intolerance, against hate, against terror, because these things are not of
God, they are of man. Bullies, they come and they go, and in the end they
are seen for who and what they truly are. The Revelation According to John
tells of the ultimate battle between Good and Evil. The Old Testament tells
of story after story about wars and battles between the people of God and
others. An unfortunate element of humanity, war is usually the next to last
resort to conflict resolution. In this war we are in, both parties claim to
be in the right, to being just and with the blessings of God. So where do we
go from there? We are to look at God and who God is. Is God one who condones
the killing of innocence? Does God work with and through means of terror?
Sunday morning I felt as though something was missing,
there was a sense of sadness and sorrow in the pit of my stomach. People
will be lost, people have and will continue to suffer before this is all
over, and I struggled to find the Good News in life. "I am with you
unto the ends of time," this is what has followed me in the days that
have followed. This is the hope I have as friends and family serve our
country in the military. As former youth serve as ground troops, as friends
and family fly missions and serve as chaplains, my hope is that God is with
us, with them. So the Good News in war, the only Good News in war, for me,
would be and is hope, hope for the future and for the present. Prayer: Lord, I struggle with hope, I struggle with the global
and domestic events of hatred and war. I need You and turn to You seeking
not only answers but an end. Bring to all of us, around the world peace and
harmony. End this hatred, help us to forgive and free us from evil.
Strengthen us all in Your endeavors and keep us faithful. Help me not only
have hope, but to know hope as well. Thank You for all that You have done in
my life and all You will continue to do, for I ask this through Christ, my
Lord and Savior. Amen.