Happy Peace Day

It is International Day of Peace today. It is hard to be optimistic or positive given how much is going on in the world. Nonetheless let us dare to dream of a better, more peaceful world, where quiet and peacable peoples may thrive. Many of us are exhausted and overwhelmed, but the struggle and pilgrimage towards peace continues in various pockets of society across the world. May the lights still shine. As a Christian I look to the Prince of Peace as the author and finisher of my faith. There is great darkness in the world, but a much greater light.

Adin Ballou, an American Christian pacifist and abolitionist wrote a book called Christian Non-Resistance, in all its important bearings, illustrated and defended (1846), which was widely read and admired by Leo Tolstoy. There is a short poetic part in the book that says:

"The earth, so long a slaughter-field,

Shall yet an eden bloom;

The spear shall be a harvest-tool,

The trumpet's voice be dumb."

Another version is cited as ending:

"The tiger to the lamb shall yield and war descend the tomb," which captures the same powerful anti-war sentiment. It evokes the biblical imagery from Isaiah.

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6 KJV)

The same verse, Isaiah 11:6, in the EasyEnglish Bible is:

"At that time, wolves and lambs will live together. Leopards will lie down with goats. Calves, lions and fat cows will live together. A small child will be their leader."

The literal fulfillment of Isaiah 11:6 is tied to the establishment of Christ's eternal kingdom, where there will be no more death, sorrow, or pain (Revelation 21:4). The danger will pass as a child can play near wild animals in peace and security under the perfect reign of the Messiah.

I believe His kingdom is both now and not yet. In other words: Christians live in the time between Jesus' first coming and his second coming. The kingdom is already here, but it is not yet fully here. This means we must continue to "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." (Psalm 34:14)

Pax et Bonum

Soli Deo Gloria

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