A Brotherhood of Peace

A Brotherhood of Peace

There are not many voices in the room when it comes time to exalt Christ in His doctrine and lifestyle of non-resistance to evil. There are not many men who will take part in the battle on this front.

The odds in this world are overwhelmingly against those who choose to believe this teaching from Jesus. Nevertheless, it is this doctrine, more than any other, which demands that Christians take up a position that exposes them to the wrath of the entire world, including fellow Christians. It is on this front where true faith and trust in the abilities and promises of God are exemplified. In a world gone mad with murder and mayhem who will trust the invisible God over the force of bullets, explosives, knives, poisons, and enough patriotism to slaughter a host of humans. When a soldier ventures onto this field he will not return unwounded nor will he receive the praise of his peers. There will be no parades or banquets, or veteran's homes or hospitals, no ribbons or medals to prove a faithful service, only the accolades of the Heart of Heaven and the assurance of a job well done.

There is a fundamental flaw in the Christian's understanding of what God wants for His people. That flaw is what we know as the flesh, a.k.a. the natural man, and sin. We have been told plainly in the New Testament that a non-violent and peaceful lifestyle, as exemplified by Jesus, is what God demands of all His children. We then look at the Old Testament and it seems God is not a peaceful God at all.

How are we to reconcile the fact that God is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" when there are such seemingly apparent contradictions of character? Does it come down to a matter of our choice as to which one we will accept? Some even see two different gods, one good and the other bad, as a way to bridge this discrepancy. As always the problem is not with God, but with man, and our understanding of the Bible. But, unfortunately, the vast majority of Christians gravitate toward and embrace violence as their chosen way to live out their interpretation of Scripture, and mistakenly believe Jesus approves of the choice. What we must remember is that if God has spoken out of both sides of His mouth then we can be sure that that god does not exist, because He cannot contradict Himself. The only other explanation is that we have misunderstood His words because the Bible says that Jesus is the exact representation of God.