Come Lord, come!
November 07, 2013
Add to Favourites
Ecclesiastes 3: 8
‘There is a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.’
The prophets always offer a tonic to the harsh realities of living, a word of consolation that life won't always be like this. They offer a hope of a time when men will not have to prepare for war anymore and all will be well, a time when each will be able to sit in his own garden and enjoy the blessing that creation and providence bring. Doesn't that sound almost heavenly, a place to chill in which there will be no more need to be afraid, to be anxious about the next journey, the next trip; a place free from extremism and terror. A world without SVBIED (suicide vehicle borne Improvised explosive devices) and the necessity to travel in armoured convoy, dressed and ready, suited and booted for war. A place where truth is valued and life is simple. God's mountain points to greater and deeper truths which transcend our divisions and hatreds. Lord, maranatha, come Lord, come!
Lord God, the prophets speak forth, forth tell your desire for humankind. It is a desire that promises the hope of peace in a Kingdom where your law is valued and where all can enjoy the fruits of their labour without fear or favour. A place where terror will not and cannot reign. And yet someone, somewhere is seeking to escape the dogs of war, no options or choices but to run. What of the refugees and displaced persons populating ever more tented cities across the faultlines of a broken and fragmented world, where neighbour can't stand neighbour and hatred and poison are borne in the heart across ethnic, sectarian, and political lines. Where to be is to be different and other, to be dehumanised and made vulnerable, because of creed, colour, kin. Lord God, your prophets and your peoples speak to that world and remind us that it won't always be like this and that there is a hope and a future. Lord God, help us to identify where and how we can be and can make the difference. How can we precipitate a time when all men will seek to turn the implements and weapons of war into the tools that bring renewal and allow blessing to pour forth and life to be settled and satisfied to the point of the peace which passes all understanding. Lord, maranatha, come Lord, come!
Padre David Anderson
Chaplain to The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Padre David Anderson is currently serving in Kabul on Op Herrick 19. He has taken a series of well-known verses or passages from across scripture which expose and express our human nature in response to war and our hope for something better, God’s peace.
Login to comment.