“Come, Let Us Walk In The Light Of The LORD!

“Come, Let Us Walk In The Light Of The LORD!”(Is.2:1-5).
The useless or meaningless reasons for which people go to war is funnily portrayed in Jonathan Swift’s, Gulliver’s voyage to Lilliput. While in Lilliput Gulliver learns that Lilliput is at war with her neighbor Blefuscu. It is a stupid conflict over a religious question : “At which end should the faithful break their eggs?” Should it be at the little end or at the big end? There is a royal edict that the Lilliputians must break their eggs at the little end, but the Blefuscudians break theirs in the original style. This alone was the reason for the war.
There has never been any justification for any war, notwithstanding any “just war theory” that has been advanced. The just war theory holds that even though war is terrible, it “is not always the worst option.” This is the kind of option when in a war of words we say, “we disagree in order to agree.”
The just war theory doctrine aims to ensure that “a war is morally justifiable” if a series of criteria are met. The first criteria is the right to go to war, which concerns the morality of going to war. The second criteria concerns the moral conduct of the war. Today there is clamour for a third criteria – the morality of post-war settlement and reconstruction.
Taking a pacifist position we challenge the just war theory on the grounds that “there has never been nor can there ever be a justifiable basis for war.” There are other means of settling our differences than with the use of arms.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Redeemer of fallen humanity entered human space as a “Prince of peace.” Peace is not just the absence of war, but the full implementation of Justice. For as the saying goes, “peace without justice is like a crumbling city wall.”
Jesus is not just the Prince of peace, he is the incarnation of God’s justice.
Wars are the outcome of human greed, ego, injustice, jealousy, arrogance, pride and hatred – you can add to the list!
When we let go and say to each other, “Come let us go…to the house of…God…He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths…” When we walk with the Lord, “he will judge between the nation’s and will settle disputes for many peoples…”
Those whose strength is in the use of weapons are powerless without those weapons. If we return to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, God will beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Therefore my friend, “Come,…let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
Prayer of the week: Holy Spirit, where we have been alienated from the LORD, redirect our steps in Christ back to the LORD. Amen!
Welcome back to a new working day and week! Have a blessed day and week! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
Prayer point: Pray for the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of those who foment wars and turn them back to the LORD.