Peacemakers

As I watched the news on Thursday night, I saw children who have been traumatized in the fighting in Syria.  Many children have lost their parents and their homes in the continuing violence.  An American physician of Syrian descent was interviewed as he worked there to try to alleviate suffering and bring some healing to children.  He almost shed tears when the news reporter asked him what he thought about the future of the children of Syria.  He said, “It will be better, when they have their country back.”  It was obvious that he was looking forward to the day when the violence ends and children can do what they are created to do: learn and grow and play, as their parents love them.

Surely, God must weep as he looks on the ways we human beings hurt each other – even innocent, defenseless children.  The prophet Isaiah gave us a vision of peace: “The Lord will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths . . ..   He will judge . . . and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”  That is God’s will for our world: no more lives torn apart, no more killing.

How can God’s will ever be done on earth?  I confess I don’t know.  What I do know is that insofar as I can influence people, I want to work to bring people together.  I can’t do that right now in Syria, but our Bible text for today from Ephesians 1:10 says, “God set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.”  We members of God’s church are a part of His long-range plan to bring everything together in Christ.  We work to bring people together.  That means that the highest priority in New Hope Baptist Church is being loving.  We don’t have a more important job to do than to learn how to love as Christ has loved us.  For us, God’s vision of peace starts right here.  May we be peacemakers here in our church and in our community, and we pray to God, may peace come to that child in a hospital in Syria who is crying for his mother, who can’t come to him because she is also seriously injured