Swords Into Plowshares

March 27, 2020

Lent 2020

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“And 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 2:4b, ESV)

This picture of Jesus’ future Kingdom takes my breath away. No more war! Discarded weapons hammered into farming tools! Today’s reality is a depressing contrast. Our selfishness, greed, and fear erupt into violence in neighborhoods and armed conflicts around the globe.

Isaiah’s words are echoed in an 1800s spiritual that’s often sung as a peace anthem. One verse says, “Gonna lay down my sword and shield / Down by the riverside.” The chorus adds: “Ain’t gonna study war no more, ain’t gonna study war no more.” Yet in spite of peace songs, marches, and negotiations, we are clearly incapable of true peace! “The way of peace they do not know … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:17, 23 ESV).

Incredibly, despite our sin, God loves us and wants us in His Kingdom.

“From one man he made all the nations … so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:26-27 NIV). True peace begins and ends with God, who provides us a way to be forgiven and worthy of Kingdom citizenship through Jesus’ sacrifice (Romans 3:24). In Isaiah’s vision, wars will cease because all the nations stream to God’s temple, learn His ways, and “walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:2-3). Global peace will follow God’s rule in human hearts.

Are there glimmers of such peace today? A few make the news, such as “reconciliation villages” established in post-genocide Rwanda by a Christian organization, and a peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, launched by Ethiopia’s Pentecostal premier. Beyond the headlines, believers launch myriad smaller acts of peace and reconciliation every day. They are acting in the Spirit’s power as citizens of the Kingdom.

DIG DEEPER: