We die a bit inside when we see a news report on the atrocities of war. Human beings fighting in close quarter, killed or killing, with blood stained soiled the only consistent result. One cannot help but be changed by the knowledge. I believe that even when the scene is make-believe the impact on our souls is still there. We cannot help but believe.
War pervades every aspect of life today. Religious and ethnic conflicts dot the world map. Kids fight to control small patches of land in their communities. Yobs change the atmosphere of major English football games. Fans fight to defend their team’s statistics and honor. Knives are part of every attach? case.
I wonder if any of us realize that “words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” (Proverbs 18.22) Do we realize what happens when we casually say something in a moment of tiredness or frustration? Are we willing to be accountable for the pain that comes as result of our sounds even if we did not intend it to happen? Can we forgive those who try to hurt us?
Everything is a choice. We can choose to strike out when we hurt or share with others the very thing that we thirst for, compassion. We can forgive and truly forget when someone hurts us or go to war. We are either going to fight and win the war or establish something different. I do not know about anyone else, nor am I wiling to comment on decisions taken, however I choose something, anything other than war. God gives each of us a chance to make a new creation around us. What are we going to choose?
It is easy to talk about this when nothing is going on. The challenge and opportunity comes in moments where others are attacking us, when we are hurting, and when justice cannot be found. It is in those moments that God’s gift of mercy, unconditionally recreation, and power comes into play. With this a new world can become reality.
