A friend called me. They said, "There's this guy on Facebook, who is supposed to be a follower of Jesus. He's advocating throwing bombs at the police. It upset me to read this."
My response was: The bomb-throwing Jesus-lover is wrong.
Any fool can wage war. Followers of Jesus are called to wage peace.
As a pastor, I have found wars and rumors of wars in marriages, families, churches, communities, and nations. A Jesus-following peacemaker has a full-time job. Waging peace never stops this side of the Age to Come!
I know some people who wage peace. They bless and inspire me. They say things like,
"Come, let us reason together."
They grieve over injustice. They refuse to fight injustice with more injustice. These are the ones upon whom the Lord pours out his blessing.
Blessed are those who put things together,
rather than tear things apart.
Blessed are those who, more than loving peace,
make peace.
Blessed are those who stay when the going gets tough,
rather than leave because the going is tough.
Blessed are those who go to the other person,
rather than tell others about the other person.
Blessed are those who deal lovingly with their anger,
rather than sleep on their anger.
Blessed are the problem-solvers,
rather than the complainers.
Blessed are the understanders,
rather than the judgers.
Blessed are the participants,
rather than the observers.
Blessed are the doers,
rather than the talkers.
Blessed are those who wage peace,
not war.
"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God."
- Jesus, in Matthew 5:9
***
My two books are:
I'm now working on...
Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart
Technology and Spiritual Formation
And, when all this settles, Linda and I intend on writing our book on Relationships.
