P is for PEACE

And so at last the war has ended in our province. At least that's what we're being told. The only problem is that some people won't admit to saying that it's over because they don't think it was a war in the first place, while other groups want to keep it going, but not those who used to be involved but are now in government with all the financial and material benefits that such a position might accrue. So when is a war not a war, if people are being killed. Some say it was never a war because many who died were murdered and not killed in the sense in which soldiers lose their lives in battle during combat. And I can see their reasoning for hundreds of innocent civilians died sometimes because of no other reason than they had contact with army or police during their work while many others had their lives cut short when out of uniform. And in this so called war there weren't just two sides, for there were three distinct groups and often even within those groups they fell out and murdered each other. So we didn't refer to some groups as armies but instead called them terrorists. But anyway it's all over now, at least the fighting bit, or so they say anyhow. It's just that I can't quite reconcile the attitudes and intransigent positions of many of the players with the words of peace that they utter. Am I alone?

So I ask myself , what is peace? Is it a time when there are no wars? Well that depends where you live for in 2006, there were at least sixteen disturbances in the world that could have been classified as war. Maybe it's a state of mutual harmony between people though I guess we can live alongside many people whose ideas and ours would hardly be harmonised but we manage to get by. I suppose it could be classified as a freedom from civil commotion and violence of a community, but I know that hardly exists in many of our towns and cities even though we are meant to be living in peace time. My dictionary suggests that peace is the 'normal, non warring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world,' but I hardly think it has been normal for a long time. Maybe peace is a more personal thing altogether. I often heard my dad say, 'would you give my head peace' and I reckon whatever we were doing was causing some sort of annoyance inside his head and disturbing the tranquility and serenity of his mind.

I once wrote a poem about peace. It made me really think how fragile it can be, when we can forgive but not forget, when we can look at others but never speak, when we can walk our streets but not without worry, when we can live only because of the rules we have made to keep peace. Agreeing to disagree is hardly the formula for everlasting peace. But it also made me realise that peace starts with the individual for when our hearts are not at peace and full of peace, we will always find a way to shatter it. Indeed the peace that Jesus give is listed among the fruits of the Spirit that also include love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and isn't it true that for real peace in our hearts we need to possess all the others too. Jesus said 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.' And He brings that peace to every person when we believe in Him as our Saviour. Paul also tells us that 'the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'

So everlasting peace doesn't begin with a set of rules but a changing of the heart and then we will know the truth of Isaiah's words about His Creator, when he says 'You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.'