By Graham Glover –
Irma. Harvey. Earthquakes. Forest Fires.
Potential war with Korea. War in Afghanistan. Conflicts across the globe.
An American electorate that remains as estranged as it has ever been.
Not exactly a recipe for peace. But this shouldn’t surprise you. This is normal. Rather, this is the world in which we live. And as much as I wish it wasn’t the case, this is how it will always be.
Our world is wrought with struggle. It’s consumed with constant turmoil. We’ve seen this recently in some crazy and downright awful weather patterns. We see it everywhere there currently is or the potential exists for armed conflict. We see it in our politics. We see it in our neighborhoods and our homes. It’s everywhere.
We may call for peace. We may do everything that is humanly possible to create a world where peace reigns. But this will never happen. Peace is not our endgame in this world. I’m not a prophet, but I suspect the weather is only going to get worse. Wars aren’t going away and will likely become unlike anything we can imagine in the years ahead. Like many of you, I’m nostalgic for a politics of dialogue, cooperation, and compromise, but this too is a pipe dream that is way beyond the scope of reality.
This grim outlook ought not concern you though. As bad as it is, we should continue to have faith in humanity’s desire to make things better. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and forest fires aren’t going away, but we can certainly be proactive in helping to preserve and protect our fragile environment. Wars and rumors of war will exist so long as sinful man walks this earth, but we can continue to put systems, armies, and policies in place that help to deter war or end them as soon as possible. And as for our politics, well, welcome to the new normal, where public discourse is a forgotten art. But even here we should have hope that sound reason and sensible minds will one day turn the tide.
Yet still our world does not and will not know peace. We can do everything possible to turn the tide on climate change, never fight another war, and create a political system void of conflict – but peace still won’t come. At least not on this earth, which is why our true faith is not in humanity’s desire, but in the Lord’s promise. A promise He makes to come again.
True peace – everlasting peace will come only when the Lord returns. A perfect earth, void of environmental disaster, armed conflict, and political turmoil will only be a reality when the King of Kings creates a new heaven and a new earth. Peace is possible only at Christ’s Second Advent.
So, come quickly Lord Jesus. Come quickly and bring the peace that the world so desperately craves. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done!
