The Family of Nations: The Peoples in Conflicts We See and Serve for Peace

Today’s reading begins Section VI: The Family of Nations – The Peoples in Conflict We See and Serve for Peace. Read here.

The people of Christ must be known as a people of peace, because the gospel we proclaim brings peace between God and individuals, between individuals, and between peoples. God’s purpose is to see diverse peoples flourish as they share their gifts and the earth’s resources in just and generous ways. We thank God for many examples of Christian communities and individuals who have embodied the Bible’s consistent call to be at peace and to make peace in a world ridden with conflict. We honour them as those who champion the peace of Christ even at the risk to their own reputations and lives. And yet the church has not always honoured the peace of Christ as a defining quality of its existence in the world. There are historical examples of the church’s involvement, whether explicit or tacit, in activities and enterprises that espouse violence and promote war. These amount to the scandalising of the gospel it proclaims. What does Christ desire from his church, a people made up of all peoples, called to declare and display Christ in a world torn by conflict?

We affirm God’s purpose in Christ to reconcile all peoples through the gospel in a world full of conflict.

The Lausanne Movement has played a key role in encouraging mission to “unreached peoples” in recognition of the need for individuals of every culturally distinct people to hear the good news of God’s saving rule over all peoples and, hence, over all people. We pray for the day when states (“nations” in the modern sense) that actively seek to prevent those they govern from hearing the good news and that persecute those who hear and believe will cease doing so. We pray this not only for the sake of the individuals but of the peoples of which they are a part. Central to God’s purposes through the gospel is the reconciliation of all peoples in Christ in a relationship marked by mutual blessing. We affirm that this purpose of God can only be achieved as the hearts of individuals are transformed and filled with love for those whose cultural identity differs from their own.

We rejoice together over the many situations in the world where severe conflict has waned and estranged communities have received the opportunity for reconciliation and restoration of harmony. Some examples are the conflict in Northern Ireland, apartheid in South Africa, the Rwandan genocide, and the Sri Lankan civil war, among other conflicts around the world. We celebrate that in some of these settings God used churches, Christian organisations, and individual Christians to champion the cause of peace, whether as frontline peacemakers between conflicting parties or through negotiation, influence, and intercession in the background of the conflict.

We are deeply saddened to note that several new armed conflicts and wars—inter-ethnic, inter-religious, and international—have erupted in every region of the world. From over one hundred current armed conflicts in the world, the regions of the Middle East and Africa have seen the highest concentration. At this point in time, the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in Gaza have received the most media attention, yet severe conflicts, such as those in Syria, Myanmar, Sudan, and Ethiopia, are hardly mentioned. We also acknowledge the “forgotten wars” around the world, especially the one on the Korean peninsula. Though they remain out of public view, they are seen by God. We grieve the tragic loss of life these wars exact and the massive destruction to societies, which deny future generations their opportunity to flourish.