The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-05-06
Peaeemakers
Lesson for May 8, 1860

WAR OR PEACE? The issue
cannot be debated any more
as it used to be. Once upon a
time statesmen Of great nations.
and boys and girls in school,
and country people in town Of a
Saturday night, could talk it
over: Is war, or is peace, the
best way out of our troubles?
Nowadays those who know the
facts of this atomic age know
that the next war is the last
war, that any war means sui
eide for both sides. War is the
death-way out Of our troubles.
Corpses have no further worries.
Their quarrels are over. Peace
may not. and will not, put an
end to our troubles; but it will
leave us alive to struggle with
them.
What About Our Enemies
Blessed are the peacenlak-
ers" sounded wonderful in the
ears Of those who heard Jesus
say it; it sounds wonderful to-
day. We wish we knew where
the peacenakers are, so that we
could give them welcome. We
wish we knew how they do it
it often looks so hopeless to us.
For "peacemaker" in the year
One was thought to mean one
who could think out a better
way of living than by war. In
this dreadful year Nineteen
Sixty a peacemaker, if such can
be found, is one who can show
us how to keep on living at all.
Let us say only one thing
bout international peace or
war. About the lease we could
hope for would be that t h e
church would not beat the
states drums; that the church
would speak up as clarly as
scientists and others outside the
church have spoken. about the
extraordinary danger and folly
of depending on H-bombs for
safety: and that the church
would not let it continue to ap-
pear that peace is talked-up,
and wished for, only by those
on the far side of the iron cur
tain.
Let us come down to some
problems we can do more about.
Jesus spoke Of hostilitieS that
men have whether their coun-
tries are at war or not. He spoke
of personal enemies. What shall
we do with them?
Treating Enemies With Love
If you are the sort of person
who enjoys a fight for t h e
fights sake, if you like to make
a row, if peace seems to you
sissy's paradise, then you are
not a Christian to begin with.
No use talking to you till you
join the Christians. But if you
really want to live at peace,
Jesus has the way to it in one
short shocking sentence: LOVE
YOUR ENEMIES.
How can this be dcc.,e? Jesus
makes some suggestions. sets
up some guideposts. He does
not release us from having to
work out a great deal by our
selves. First he tells us to take
the initiative. If you wait for
your enemy to make the first
move you may wait forever.
It is not coWardly or weak to
make the first gesture towards
peace.
Peace with your neighbor is
the most important project you
can have. Jesus makes a strik-
ing illustration of this. Suppose
YOU are in the very act of Of
fering a gift at the altar of God.
and at that moment it occurs
to you that some one has some
thing ainst you. Getting
straight with that person is then
the most important thing in your
life. more important than even
worship. Leave the gift. says our
Lord, leave the altar; the tenn
pie. the place of prayer; go be
reconciled to your brother. and
then you are free to worship
again.
The Church As Pcacemaker
Jesus said more. and the read
err is invited to look this up in
Matt. and Mark 10 and see
what he actually said. It all
sums up to this: Treat your
enemies as you would wish to
be treated: treat your enemies
as if they were your friends. do
for them acts Of humble service
with patience.
Can the church help in all
this? 1t is the shame Of the
church that although she is in
good position to help local quar-
rels get settled. and to say
something about International
relations flor the church's Lord
is called the Prince of Peace.
and the church is the only truly
international organization in the
! u