Last evening I attended a local International Day of Peace event at the public library. I wasn’t exactly sure what the facilitators were going to lead us through and was surprised and pleased and I am still a little bit in awe of how the Holy Spirit worked personally in my life during those brief two hours. I’m only going to share from a portion of the evening as I am still allowing the full work of the Holy Spirit lead me beyond the work that was begun last evening.
When we arrived we were instructed to select one picture from many that were scattered around the table. I was drawn to several different pictures and then suddenly one loomed out large and grabbed my attention. I tossed the others back onto the table and took my place at a table in the group. I knew three people quite well and one I had met a few times in the past, soon another person I knew and had worked with in the past joined the group and we were asked to speak about the pictures that we had selected.
Mine was photo taken above the clouds showing mountain peaks covered with golden leaves and hues in the foreground, barely visible, near but just above the clouds was a small house or cottage nestled on the edge of the trees on the side of the hill. The clouds appeared to be flowing like river cascading over rocks, the hills on the opposite side of river of clouds were hued in grays and blues. And the sky above was a soft tint of blue with just a hint of whitish gray. What it spoke to me about was our lofty goals of peace on earth, which sometimes seem too high to reach, but yet are attainable as we can see from above. Peace comes not from within the earth, but from the heights of heaven and finds it’s haven of rest in our hearts represented by the hidden cottage. The golden hues of leaves remind us that gold is fleeting, through the seasons of life it comes and goes, but peace is eternal and constant. That is a personal goal, to find and maintain peace through all the seasons of life. And yet, in the house we know that everything is not always peaceful – in scripture we are reminded that a man’s worst enemies are often members of his own household. (Yikes! If we are honest about family life, we do know it seems this way sometimes and yet – the promise of peace and reconciliation remains constant). As a Christian I am always reminded that Jesus gave us an inheritance of peace, an inheritance that we too often reject. Still it is always there for us to receive and accept for he does not take away his inheritance. With an inheritance of peace comes the gift of forgiveness – the gift of being able to forgive self and other people – the gift of being able to recognize our own need of forgiveness, for we all fall short of God’s goodness and love. And with receiving the inheritance of peace, we receive forgiveness and love and hope – renewed hope that peace can and will reign in the heart of every man, woman and child.
This is the hope that I cling to and when we were asked to name people who we consider to be peacemakers, after several ‘famous’ people were mentioned, with whom I wholeheartedly agreed I said “I’d like to bring it down to non-famous people, if I might and say that whenever I am asked: “Who is a peacemaker?” I always think of my mother first. Someone asked me: “Why do you say your mother?” I drew a deep breath and then said, “Because I know her life story personally. I know what her hopes were, I know the depth of her love and the depth of pain and sorrow. I know what she endured and how she remained faithful and constant and how through her own struggles she worked hard to maintain a sense of peace in her life and to impact the lives of other people with the same. My mother brought peace into my own life and the lives of so many of her students and other friends and family members. My mother was a peacemaker.”
Oh – how I miss her physical presence in my life – but I draw strength from the remembrance of her strength and her faith (faith that she said I gave to her and strengthened her own belief). I didn’t understand when she told me that she drew strength from my own faith – but as I see my daughters growing in faith in their own unique ways I also gain strength and hope that peace will reign in their lives, not because of anything I have said or done or not said or not done – but because of what Jesus Christ has taught and done and given us. I also gain strength from seeing the same growth in my son and his family.
When we can start talking more and more about peace and less and less about war it will be a very good thing. It will be a wonderful thing when we can experience heaven on earth, living in peace with one another without fear of being in the company of strangers and without fear of being attacked by any enemy – known or unknown. Jesus reminded his disciples that they didn’t get their prayers answered because they didn’t pray for the things that God wants.
Lord – help us to know more deeply what you really desire for all people in this world. Help us to pray in accordance to your will. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us that we may live in peace, concord and unity on this fragile earth. Lord God, please help people to receive and share the inheritance of Peace that is offered through Jesus Christ to everyone in every generation. AMEN
