Is there Peace without Christ?
Dr. Girma Bekele has written a thoughtful article concerning conflict and peace in Ethiopia and I encourage you to click the link provided snd read his thoughts for yourself. His analysis is insightful and his call for the religious communities of Ethiopia to encourage the peace process and the work of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission is important for all of us who love Ethiopia. As a Christian ministry we want to emphasize that there is no peace without the Prince pf Peace. Whether we are in Ethiopia, America, Europe or anywhere in the world today, conflict is everywhere and is often encouraged for monetary gain. As Christians we must understand that standing for Jesus does not mean we should be drawn into unhealthy forms of conflict because we think “Jesus is on our side.” The one commandment of Christ that He owned as His own was to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35). That would not only mean to love those who agree with our doctrinal position or are members of our particular denomination or church, but to love all who trust in the name of Christ and follow Him. Jesus died for those who hated Him and this is the evidence of His love (Romans 5:8).
Loving one another as followers of Christ, even if we have differences of doctrine or practice, is evidence to the world that Christ is real and who He says He is (John 17:21). John goes further in hiss first epistle when he tells us that if we hate our brother in Christ we remain in the darkness and have not come to the light (1 John 2:9-11). John tells us that such a person walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him (1 John 2:11). Change must begin with the people of God and so it can spread to the society around. The god of this world would deceive us to think that we are justified in hating our brothers and sisters because they are of a different doctrinal position, a different racial or ethnic group, another nation or economic group, or any of a hundred other sources of division we encounter every day. But we are never justified. It is time for God’s people to be the example of loving one another! Dr. Girma Bekele Article
