“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke 19:38b ESV
Reflection: why do so many Christians encourage war between nations?
Yesterday we looked at the mina each of us have been given, to do the will of the Lord. To multiply His investment in us, building and expanding His kingdom while we wait for the return of the King. But it seems like so many are still consumed with war across the world, as opposed to working on achieving peace. Now, it is understandable for those that do not follow Christ, that have a heart filled with hatred towards God and their fellow man. But shouldn’t it be a characteristic of Christians to always be promoting reconciliation and peace, to learn how to strive for peace? As we know from most peace negotiations, to achieve peace is often hard work.
You might remember in the beginning of Luke, as the angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in the field. Let’s read it “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”” Luke 2:10-14 ESV. It was an announcement of “peace on earth” through “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
And in our focus verse today, once again the King of peace is being announced, as He rides in to Jerusalem on a colt of a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Zechariah “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 ESV. This prophecy might be very familiar, also know as the “Triumphal Entry”, and we see Jesus’ disciples declaring it as He was approaching Jerusalem. But, we often forget to include the next verse in the prophecy, which states
“I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9:10 ESV. Notice that He is ending wars. Cutting off the weapons of war, and instead “speaking peace to the nations”. Peace across the earth. He is a King of peace. As we consider the various battles around the earth, and our own posture about them, are we as Christians reflecting our Lord, our King of peace? Shouldn’t we be the first to promote peace, to celebrate peace?
Let’s extend that thought even further, to make peace very practical and applicable for us today. Are we the peacemakers Jesus talked about in his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 ESV. We should be working intentionally to resolve conflicts in our own lives, to bring about reconciliation and peace within our own families, with our friends and neighbors, and even at work. Peace has to be a whole mindset for us, how we think and act. It is not about winning an argument, but about glorifying our King of peace, who says “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”Luke 6:35 ESV
Let’s have a mindset of peace as our Lord, and strive to leave behind peace wherever we go.