“The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise.”
- Micah 4:3-4
I remember growing up, when birthdays would come around in my third-grade class we were often asked questions about our hopes and dreams. The obvious cliché answer from many would be for world peace, the end to world hunger, or some other wishes that echo the above verses. It’s crazy that from such a young age, of kids who grow up in one of the most privileged nations in the world, and we still long for world peace, even if we do not understand what that means.
My point, we know, everyone knows, that the way things are, are far from what it meant to be. Where there is war, there should be mediation. Where there is bloodshed, we know there should be farming. We know that where there is economic inequality, there should be no suffering, no injustice, no abuse of power, no manipulation, no need for even a system because people care for one another before they care about money and security.
Odds are when you read the above verses you get a bunch of warm and fuzzy feelings, maybe some cold and sobering chills, or maybe you scoff at it because it’s unrealistic. Yet, those are the very plans that God has for the world. The earth and all its nations will be transformed one day in the presence of God. It will be an earth where there is no exploitation of its resources, people, or beauty. God is the great mediator of it all.
Starting with Christ:
Of course, if that is the end and what eternity will be like, then it is also what the church today should pursing to be. However, instead of starting with the end in mind, we must circle back around and start with Christ. For Christ above all is the great mediator.
As far as I am aware, no other religion, philosophy, or idea can accurately compare or be better than what Christ has done. We are talking about the actual God who spoke everything into being, has always existed, always will exist, and being the initiator of relationships with humanity. That same God incarnated into the flesh, though not in some adult body, but began as a baby, lived a life like thousands of others lived in his day. Only to sacrifice Himself to atone for all of humanities sins and rebellions against each other and against God.
Christ stepped in to be a mediator.
This very mediator will be the one who brings world peace, an end to all war and conflict and division. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning of this, which started on the cross, and he will bring to completion when He returns to establish the Kingdom that is not yet here.
Continuing Today:
The Church today represented in local churches now carries on the mediating mission and work of Christ. The Church has always been meant to operate separately from other groups and institutions and nations in this world, for that is the only way to be a true mediator. For while Jesus came and lived in the flesh among people as a Jewish carpenter, He was also God and thus able to mediate properly. Thus the Church resembles our Lord’s incarnation, a fleshy representative of the God who stands separated and uncontrolled by all human groups, institutions, and nations. The Church has an agenda from Christ, not an agenda for Christ. To often we try to determine Christ’s agenda for Him instead of living out the agenda He has already given us.
We are to be mediators, reconcilers, peacemakers, caretakers in people’s wellbeing and welfare. It is hard to do any of this effectively if one is joined with a human group that does not have this mission. For human groups seek their own prosperity and power, thus able to manipulate and exploit others. Every nation has done it, many organizations have done it, and sadly many churches have done it.
Yes, those ideas and these verses in Micah seem too perfect, like an ideal that cannot possibly be reached. But if we do not even strive for it we have to question what we believe to be true about the Church, Christ, and God. We must strive to be mediators, liberators, and defenders. Though we do not do so for our own sake, but for the sake of the earth, creation, and all people.
So, when a regime like Nazi Germany arises and persecutes Jews, the Church becomes the mediator and defender of the Jew, even at the cost of the church’s preservation. It means when war and violence is a foot, we seek peace and mediation first, and analyze our conscience if we can defend our nation without breaking our personal integrity. Personally, I struggle to see Biblically how a Christian can engage in acts of violence and war, not to say I am right, and others are wrong, I just can’t make sense of a just war. Not with verses like Micah 4:3-4, and the conviction that we should be mediators, following in the steps of Christ, no matter the great cost to ourselves.
Final Blessing:
So, the Church follows in the footsteps of Christ, the Great Mediator among nations and people. The Church, who will bring world peace at some point to where there is no fear or insecurity about money, resources, or power. But there is just produce and prosperity. We are to be a people who seeks to be peacemakers in this world today, actively stepping into situations to be reconcilers and mediators. In our families, our workplaces, and among strangers. The work that Christ had started, continues before us, and one day we will see world peace.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey.
Comments