There’s a metal barn, easily visible from I-70 in Eastern Kansas, with a message in very large letters on the side. It reads, “No Jesus, No Peace…Know Jesus, Know Peace.” I’ve read that message, many times, as I’ve driven past that barn over the years. And it’s been there a long time.
Have you noticed there’s no peace on Earth?
And while we’re at it, where’s all the “goodwill toward men?” Or women, for that matter.
Elgielene and I visited her sister, recently. And being in someone else’s house generally means exposure to mainstream mumbly-peg streaming through the large screen on the wall. And that was the case. But it was someone else’s house. So, someone else’s house rules.
So, the repetitive morning “news” stations blared out their predictable blather. Especially the propagan…uh, “reports” on something they like to call “gun violence.”
Of course, I’ll admit guns are popular weapons for murderers. Because, let’s face it, when you want someone dead, fast, it’s difficult to find something more effective than a gun. But the simple fact (and it should be glaringly simple, even for a mushy mind) is this. Until a person picks up a gun, it’s as peaceful as Christmas. And here’s why.
Inanimate objects are incapable of emotions.
If no person EVER picked up a gun, there would be NO murders committed with guns. But that absolutely doesn’t mean there’d be NO murders. Because it’s actually people who get violent.
Gasp!
“Did he just say it’s people who get violent?”
Yes. People are the problem. Not guns. Not resources. And not extenuating circumstances. And when murderers don’t have access to guns, they reach for knives. Or swords. Or ropes, baseball bats, rocks, poison, hand tools, cars, fire, acid, etc. etc. etc. In other words, people are resourceful. Even murderers.
It’s a basic thought process. When you have no peace in your life, your human tendency is to focus on YOU. What you want. What you can’t live without. And what you’re gonna have to do get what you gotta have.
Your basic selfishness is never satisfied. Well, not by anything the world has to offer. And a lack of satisfaction perpetuates the problem. For example, even if you get that next iPhone or Chromebook, the rush of a new toy fades away pretty quickly. And before you know it, something else catches your eye, or thoughts.
Sadly, most of the world rejects the simple solution to this problem.
Because the simple solution requires humility. And an acknowledgment that YOU are not the ruler of the universe. Or anything else, outside your self, for that matter. But when you can admit that there must be a Creator God, and that you’re not Him, you’re primed to know peace as you’ve never known it.
Now, that doesn’t mean your life will be filled with butterflies, puppies, and rainbows from then on. But it DOES mean, you can live forever in a place where “no peace” will never be a problem again.
I wrote a song, on this subject, back in 2000, and included it in my Amen collection. And those 13 songs are in the Amen Songbook Journal I’ve been talking about lately. I guess, to be clear, the lyrics to those songs are in the songbook. But there’s also a link, in the book, to where you can download all the songs for Fah-Ree.
There are plenty of pages for you to write down your own thoughts. Or take notes in church or class. Or even compose the lyrics and music for your next song. Get your Amen Songbook Journal, today. And enjoy 13 classic, hard-hitting songs about the Christian life.
And I have to trust that my God is just
And I feel my boldness increase.
I’m a dissident, and I’m an instrument
For the one true Way to peace.
(from “The One True Way To Peace”)
Stay tuned,
