Peace in the face of conflict

How we relate to one another in a diverse world is one of the big questions facing us in the world today.  Modern travel and migration have added to the need to find good ways of relating to one another – ways of peace and not of conflict. 

Belfast Peace Line

There is something about our humanity that seems to seek to define ourselves against others.  My own upbringing in Northern Ireland was in the setting of the two tribes of Irish Republicanism and Ulster Loyalism, who defined themselves against one another and spent a bloody number of years in conflict.  I have a memory as a child of meeting up with a group from Catholic West Belfast who had never knowingly met with Protestants in their lives.  With such distance and separation came suspicion, fear and a lack of trust.  Religious issues were drawn into the conflict, in part to legitimise the conflict by claiming that God was on one side or another.  The two communities were divided by the ironically called ‘Peace Line’.

Recently at meetings of the Baptist World Alliance in Chile, I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of people who seek to follow the ‘Prince of Peace’ in situations of conflict.  Some of these people have come from the deeply divided land of Nigeria, where there has been a flare up of violence in recent days, directed against the Christian community.  It seems that the Gospel demands that we pursue peace in the world.  The picture presented of the heavenly community gathered together from every tribe and tongue is to be no mere heavenly dream, but something that we strive for here on earth.  This striving after peace is no easy pursuit, but rather is one that demands costly forgiveness and grace.  We need to see others first and foremost as created in the image of God and loved by him, rather than labelled as the enemy, whether by virtue of race, religion or some other criteria.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  Peace-making necessitates the closing of the distance of separation, the growing in mutual understanding, and the commitment to love as Christ has loved us.  We all need to consider what this means for us personally – Where and with whom do we need to make peace?

Risky Business

Risk is defined as the exposure to the chance of hazard, harm, injury or loss.  Risk is something to which we all have differing responses.  On the one had some of us seek to avoid risk at all costs by taking extreme care, while on the other hand some actively seek it out. 

Recently, I have been confronted afresh by the nature of risk in mission, as I have travelled in central Asia.  Applying the two extreme views could lead to either a total avoidance of mission in countries where risks are perceived to be high, or on the other hand a reckless approach to walking in and courting death.  In the particular contexts various agencies and individuals have adopted differing approaches; some simply blacklisting the place and refusing to go and others committing themselves to working there and taking the consequences.  Even as I write this blog there is another story of aid workers being taken hostage in central Asia.

As I reflect upon scripture I see revealed an aspect of God’s character as being a risk-taker.  This is perhaps best expressed in the Incarnation, with the loving Father sending his Son, as a weak and vulnerable baby to be born in a hostile land, in an unclean stable and with a ‘Wanted’ label on his head from Herod.  This supreme step of mission was riddled with risk from start to finish.  Yet there was a time when Jesus walked away, through a crowd, from conflict (Luke 4:28-30).  When do we stand and face the risk and when do we run?

Then, if we turn our sights to the early church, we once again see risk at almost every turn.  A weak and vulnerable group of people commissioned to go and make disciples in that same hostile environment.  A group of people who faced persecution, exclusion, imprisonment and death.  The Apostle Paul wrote of his life with these words – “As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger…” (2 Cor 6:4-6).  Paul faced risk in his following of Christ and yet there were occasions when he ran away from it (Acts 9:23-24).  When do we stand and face the risk and when do we run?

Returning to the context of Central Asia, one approach has been not to court risk and persecution, or to run from it in search of personal well-being, but rather to be a wise witness - to walk through difficulty if it comes.  The New Testament letters were written to people in situations of risk and I find Peter’s first letter to be of particular help with the challenge to live good lives in hostile settings (1 Peter 2:12) and in doing so, to provoke questions (1 Peter 3:15).  Whether in Central Asia or in the UK a mission encounter in my view demands wise risk-taking.

Inspiration

In 1890, a young post office worker called J H Lorraine set sail for Kolkata in response to the call of God in his life.  He was joined by a recently qualified school teacher called F W Savidge.  They travelled on from Kolkata to a region in the far North East of India called Mizoram, partly on foot and partly in canoes, arriving in 1894.  Their story is an amazing one of perseverance and faith as they presented the gospel to this particular tribal grouping.  In March I travelled to Mizoram where today you will find about 90% of the population with a Christian commitment, a vitality of faith and love for God, and a heart for mission demonstrated with over 700 Mizos serving in cross-cultural mission.

There is a principle here of inspiration as we look back at the lives of ordinary people in the hands of an extraordinary God - ordinary people through whom God chooses to do extraordinary things.  Inspiration from the past seems to be of particular significance when we are facing struggles and challenges in the present.  When Lorraine and Savidge first encountered the Mizo people, they were in genuine fear for their lives in the face of this fierce tribal group.  They faced fears and struggles, but we have the benefit of looking back at their story and the stories of those who followed them to Mizoram.  Perhaps as they faced their struggles they looked back to the likes of William Carey and others who had gone before them.

More recently I have travelled to a country in Central Asia where the church number perhaps a two or three thousand in total.  As I met with the ordinary folk serving in that land in the face of struggles and opposition, I drew hope by looking back to Mizoram and holding on to the belief that God is the same today as he was then and that he continues to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.