How Peace on Earth Will Come
The history of our world is filled with violence.
First, Cain killed his brother Abel. Later Lamech bragged about killing a man (Genesis 4:23). And before long “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).
Today, there are many wars around the world. Wars between countries. Wars between political parties. Wars between neighbors and family members.
But in God’s Kingdom, there will be peace. Let’s read a few of the encouraging prophecies of the future.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV)
And one of my favorite scriptures:
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
(Isaiah 2:2-4)
Nations that are bitter enemies will live together in peace:
“In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance’” (Isaiah 19:23-25).
Even the conflict between Israel and Palestine will come to an end. God will deal with those on both sides who refuse to make peace (Ezekiel 20:38; Ezekiel 25:15-17; Zephaniah 2:5). But “he who remains [from the area of Gaza], even he shall be for our God, and shall be a leader in Judah” (Zechariah 9:5-7).
War will finally cease as people learn to live the way of peace.
And God wants us to learn the way of peace now.
So what is the cause of war?
We find a list of things that cause war in James 3:14-4:3. These include “desires for pleasure,” “envy” and “self-seeking.”
Today let’s look at “self-seeking”—to understand what it is and how we can remove it from our lives.
The Greek word translated as “self-seeking” is also translated “selfish ambition,” in my Bible, and it appears 7 times in the Bible (Romans 2:8; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20; Philippians 1:16 and 2:23; James 3:14, 16).
Outside the Bible, Aristotle used this word to describe “party rivalry” that often arises in democracies. If you live in a country where people elect the leaders, I’m sure you have seen this. As people try to get elected, they create divisions between the people of the country—and the leaders who get elected often encourage people to adopt an “us versus them” way of thinking.
This self-seeking or “us versus them” thinking is a central cause of war.
People identify with a group, and seek the benefit of that group, without concern for the people outside of that group.
God’s way is the opposite: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
In God’s Kingdom, peace will come as each person learns to care about others as much as they care about themselves, fulfilling the second greatest commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
So let’s look at some of the self-seeking and “us versus them” thinking that we can easily participate in if we are not careful.
In times of war, we have a natural tendency to identify with one side or the other. Think about the wars between Russia and Ukraine, the USA and Iran, Israel and Hamas. You might see one side as the aggressor and the other side as the victim. This is especially true if your country is at war with another country. People almost always see their own country as right and good, and the country they are at war with as wrong and bad, and the population is quickly swept up in “us versus them” thinking. It is easy to get caught up in this attitude, and to be concerned only for your own people.
Now it may be true that one side is less wrong than the other. But Jesus said, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).
Praying for your enemies is a good way to overcome self-seeking. In the wars around the world, how much have you been praying for your enemies? If you haven’t, today is the best time to start.
Next, if you live in a democracy, do you tend to identify with one political party, and see other parties as rivals to “your” party? Do you feel animosity toward the leaders and supporters of other parties?
Remember that Satan is “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30), and “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). Politics is an effective tool to divide people into warring factions and distract them from God’s way of peace.
God’s Kingdom will not be a democracy. There won’t be any politics. Jesus will be King, and He will appoint righteous leaders. Jesus Christ is going to replace the governments and political parties of this world with His Kingdom (read Daniel 2:44). Your favorite political party will not solve the problems of this world. It will not bring God’s Kingdom. So we must be careful not to get caught up in the “us versus them” thinking that politics encourages.
Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father in heaven.” God created all people to become His children, and He wants us to view other people as our brothers and sisters. They may be enemies now. But each person has the potential to become your sibling in God’s eternal family. When we see others as our siblings—perhaps lost and wayward siblings, but still siblings—it encourages us to treat them with love, just as Jesus showed by His example.
War begins with a way of thinking that places our interests and the interests of our group above the interests of others. Nationalism, politics, racism, and selfishness are just different forms of the same attitude.
Peace begins with a way of thinking that considers the interests of others at least as much as our own. This is also called love.
So let’s strive to practice the way of peace now, as we look forward to God’s Kingdom of peace.
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