Today's Scripture Reading (February 21, 2023): Hosea 2 & 3
I have admitted that I have lived
in relative peace and security. I have never experienced living in a war zone. What
I know about life with a battle raging around you has been reserved for the
news I receive from my television screen. But it is something that I have
thought about during times of conflict in my life. And I wonder what it was like
to be a civilian during the Vietnam War. Or to be a child living in Iraq during
the days of Saddam Hussein? What is it like living in Ukraine with Russia
knocking on your door, trying to take your home away from you? It is beyond my
experience; what I know is what my T.V. tells me.
I have never had to live in a
war zone, but I know what it is like to live in a world where some people don't
like me. And although there are no threats to my physical well-being, it is hard
to live knowing that some people don't like you because they disagree with you
on some subject. I know what it is like to have people telling lies and
spreading untrue rumors. It is a different kind of violence, but it is still
violence.
And I dream of a day when the
violence will end. It is a day that Isaiah had seen.
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes
for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:4).
Someday, the Bible talks about an era
of peace. It is a peace we can't understand in our violence-torn world. It will
be a day when we will sincerely want the best for others, even the ones with
whom we might have a significant disagreement. It will be a world where
children can go to bed and not worry about the bombs that might fall on their
house during the night, nor about the intruder who might break in to take what
is not theirs.
It will be a day when the earth will
be changed fundamentally. From a natural science position, there will be a
change among the animals. God will make a covenant with the natural world. It will
be a day when "the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie
down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). A time when the human
race will no longer wish to make war anymore, And our children will all be able
to live with peace and security; a time when we will all be able to lie down in
safety.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Hosea 4
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