John 5:31-38

John 5:31-38
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 It seems as though the world has gone mad.
  There are too many mornings where I wake up to the news of terrorist attacks in some part of the world.  Some are more publicized than others, but it seems as though there are countless attacks, in Iraq or Turkey or France or California.  One after another they come, and each one leaves me grasping for words, having run out of things to say.  I haven't heard many practical solutions, and I certainly don't have any to propose.  How does one counter the threat of terror that seems to emerge here and there, without pattern or warning?  It is exhausting to think of all the things there are to fear.
  Humanity has been filled with violence since Cain slew Abel, and Steven Pinker's excellent The Better Angels of our Nature detailed how we are now dramatically less violent than we have been in our past.  And yet there is still too much violence, too much warring.
  I believe in a peace that transcends this chaos, in a Savior who will one day defeat our warring ways to institute his reign of peace on earth.  I cling to this, and while I don't know what to say in the face of such pain and heartache, I do believe in bowing my knee, in submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  His is a way of peace, and one day, when we all bow before him, there will be peace that passes understanding, that guards our hearts and minds.  I believe that dedicating my life to such submission is worthwhile, and my prayer is that our community of faith will live that out, day by day, and slowly influence the world to Christ's ways of peace.