War and Peace

 

Column "From the Minister's Study" for The Citizen, Nov.6, 2026

Remembrance Day 2026 finds us more than 80 years after the end of World War II. Each year there are fewer veterans remaining alive from that conflict. Each year the memory of stories told by my father who fought in that war up through Sicily and Italy, and ending in the liberation of Holland, becomes fainter. “War is hell!” he maintained – but each year we Canadians become just a little more insulated from the memory of that global conflagration. And perhaps a bit more ignorant of the factors which prompted it in the first place.

Does it really matter if someone is a socialist or a communist or “right-wing”? Isn’t that just a matter of personal preference? What if some races just seem inclined not to get along, and have conflict?

Recently in preparation for an upcoming trip to Israel, I was watching a documentary about the beginnings of that nation’s statehood. It recalled Krystallnacht in November 1938, and showed gory scenes of Allied soldiers viewing the remains of victims at Hitler’s concentration camps. Very disturbing! “National Socialism” was not sociable at all towards Jews, or the disabled, or any deemed imperfect or undesirable by Aryan standards. The Nazis overran continental Europe and threatened the British Isles; to protect the rest of the free world, our relatives took up arms, risked their lives, and devoted several years in their prime of life to defeating a fearsome threat. My mother’s brother, an RCAF Mosquito ‘night fighter’ pilot, did not make it back alive.

Does the Bible condone war? Various passages do portray God as fighting for the descendants of Jacob in order to protect them from their enemies. When fleeing from slavery in Egypt Moses told the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Ex.14:13f) Similarly when they are about to enter the Promised Land Moses says, “When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." (Deut.20:3f)

David in his famous confrontation with Goliath the giant announces, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied… All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands." (1Sam.17:45,47) The Psalmist could sing, “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” (Ps.18:34)

The Bible does recognize the role of the state in using force justly to punish wrongdoing and protect from enemies. According to Paul, the one in authority does not “bear the sword for nothing – he is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. (Rom.13:4) Yet that’s not how we as individual citizens are to approach life.

The Old Testament recognized the value of peacemaking. “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” (Ps.34:14) The prophet Isaiah anticipated a time of Messiah-instigated global peace in the last days: “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.” (Is.2:4)

Jesus Christ in His seminal sermon stated, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Mt.5:4) There is a definite cost to peace-making! Conflict often arises due to competition for resources. Back when Abram and nephew Lot were running into conflict because there was not enough provision for their large flocks, Abram accepted (what must have been thought to be) an inferior area, giving Lot first pick of the well-watered plain of the Jordan towards the south. (Gen.13:5-12)

The apostles understood the cross to be the cost of peacemaking between sinful humans and their holy Creator (and also where there is racial strife, as between Jews and Gentiles). “He Himself [Christ] is our peace… His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” (Eph.2:15ff)

Jesus commanded us to “love one another” (Jn.13:34f); peace flows from that. “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other,” He advised (Mk.9:50). Repeatedly the New Testament reminds us to behave towards others in a way that promotes peace. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Rom.12:18) “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” (Rom.14:19) “Live in peace with each other.” (1Thess.5:13) “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy…” (Heb.12:14) Yes, sometimes it takes a lot of effort!

Peacemaking involves a radical change of focus: being willing to spend ourselves for others, rather than just looking out for ourselves. When we truly love them and care for them, that’s when we become willing to bear the cost of peace-making. With every step we take.

A professor was invited to speak at a military base and was met at the airport by a soldier named Ralph. As they headed toward the baggage claim area, Ralph kept disappearing – once to help an older woman with her suitcase, once to lift two toddlers so they could see Santa Claus, and again to give someone directions. The professor asked him, "Where did you learn to live like that?" Ralph said, "During the war." He had served in Vietnam. His job was to clear minefields, and he saw friends die suddenly, one after another, before his eyes. He said, "I never knew whether the next one would be my last, so I learned to live between steps."