The Peaceable Principles of Christ.
By T.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world thru Him might be saved.” John 3:16, 17. The precepts of Christ clearly show that the Lord’s Gospel is a message of salvation and love to all mankind. God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die that men might live. Then what an awful perversion of the divine truth it is for men to try to make it appear that this God of love and kindness and peace is also the author of war, and that He sanctions all its barbarous atrocities! The Son of God voluntarily endured death Himself so that men might live. But the soldier seeks to kill as many as he can, so that he may forcibly seize some right or privilege. How different is this from the course pursued by the Saviour of the world! It may seem at times that war is thrust upon a nation, and that there is no way of avoiding it, and it may be true from the standpoint of nations of the world. It may be the only thing that men who look to this world can do. But war can never be harmonized with either the teaching or practise of Christ. When Jesus was in the hands of the mob that were leading Him to the tribunal where He was to be condemned to death, the record says: “One of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” There is no one professing Christianity to-day that does not know of the existence of this plain scripture. There could be no mistaking its meaning. It is a positive prohibition against any follower of the Master ever going to war. The Sermon on the Mount is familiar to all. Hear a passage from this wonderful discourse of the great Teacher: “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matt. 5:7, 9–12. These blessings are for the peacemaker, and not for him whose garments are dyed red at the gory shrine of the god of war. These blessings from the Prince of Peace are for those who, like their8 (40)divine Master, have learned how to be large-hearted enough to rise above the insults of the rabble who persecute and revile, and to endure these things with the spirit of rejoicing, and not in the angry sentiment of revenge and fight. Men may seek to excuse war; they may try to persuade themselves that it is necessary, or something of that kind. But to seek to harmonize its destructive cruelties with the peaceable beatitudes that flowed from the lips of the great Teacher as He sat on that historic mountainside in Judea, is perversion of this Gospel. The following words are from this same sermon: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:43–48. The foregoing words do not sound like the speech of an army general on the battle-field as he urges his men into the combat to kill their fellow-mortals. No, no! These are the precepts of the Prince of Peace. The principles of the government of Christ look toward the end of turning aside strife and not stirring it up and making it worse and worse. When any one strikes us on the face, if we strike back, one blow will quickly follow another, and soon a hard fight is on hand, and lifelong animosities are stirred up. Such a course as this does not tend to the peace of a community or of a nation. So the plan of Christ is for His followers to “resist not evil.” If smitten on the one cheek, they are to turn the other one to be smitten, and thus show that they value peace so highly that they would rather be smitten again and again than to strike any one else and thus make them more and more angry. It is very difficult for any one to get angry at us when we steadfastly refuse to get angry at them. And what anger they may have toward us at the start is soon melted away before the sunshine of real Christian kindness. He who has faith in the divine principles of peace will have the grand opportunity of spending his life, or possibly of giving it up, in the more noble purpose of relieving suffering and saving life. The path of peace is a path of faith in the principles of the Man of Calvary. The road to war is in the direction of not being able to see how these principles can apply in this world.