"Peace in our time."
Those admirable words were uttered by Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on September 30, 1938. He proudly announced that he had ensured a lasting peace between the Britain and Germany, led by Adolf Hitler. It considered one of the biggest blunders in world history, since almost exactly a year later Nazi Germany invaded Poland and initiated the European theater of World War 2.
However flawed Chamberlain may have been in his interactions with one of history's most horrific tyrants, one cannot deny that his intentions were admirable. He sought peace for his country. He had witnessed one World War and did not want to see that amount of suffering and destruction inflicted upon his people yet again. Chamberlain wanted peace, but his replacement had a different view.
Winston Churchill is one of the most recognizable figures in world history. He heroically led the British people through World War 2, holding off the Nazi forces until the Allies could fully engage them. While Chamberlain was negotiating treaties, Churchill was advocating for full scale rearmament and an absolute denunciation of Hitler. For years people thought he was crazy, even dangerous. Then the War began, and Churchill was proven correct.
Churchill wanted the British nation to reorient their outlook and very lives. He wanted them to recognize the true enemy and be prepared to fight when the time came. War was inevitable, in Churchill's mind. The key was being ready to fight when the time came, focused on the real enemy. In his own way, Churchill also wanted peace.
When it comes to our own spiritual lives, I think we often have the mindset of Chamberlain. We try to appease the powers of sin and darkness in our lives. We avoid pain, struggle, or anything that might bring about discomfort. We define peace as an absence of conflict.
True peace is not about the absence of conflict. True peace comes when we have reoriented our relationship with God. It is when we are right with God that we recognize the real enemy. We see that it isn't our political opinions, sovereign nations, or each other. The real enemy is sin, and true peace readies us for battle.
I have always found it interesting that in Ephesians 6 a piece of the armor of God is "readiness given by the gospel of peace." The true peace of the gospel doesn't help us avoid conflict; it prepares us for it. So be a spiritual Churchill. Recognize the true enemy we face and prepare, putting on the full armor of God.
Those admirable words were uttered by Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on September 30, 1938. He proudly announced that he had ensured a lasting peace between the Britain and Germany, led by Adolf Hitler. It considered one of the biggest blunders in world history, since almost exactly a year later Nazi Germany invaded Poland and initiated the European theater of World War 2.
However flawed Chamberlain may have been in his interactions with one of history's most horrific tyrants, one cannot deny that his intentions were admirable. He sought peace for his country. He had witnessed one World War and did not want to see that amount of suffering and destruction inflicted upon his people yet again. Chamberlain wanted peace, but his replacement had a different view.
Winston Churchill is one of the most recognizable figures in world history. He heroically led the British people through World War 2, holding off the Nazi forces until the Allies could fully engage them. While Chamberlain was negotiating treaties, Churchill was advocating for full scale rearmament and an absolute denunciation of Hitler. For years people thought he was crazy, even dangerous. Then the War began, and Churchill was proven correct.
Churchill wanted the British nation to reorient their outlook and very lives. He wanted them to recognize the true enemy and be prepared to fight when the time came. War was inevitable, in Churchill's mind. The key was being ready to fight when the time came, focused on the real enemy. In his own way, Churchill also wanted peace.
When it comes to our own spiritual lives, I think we often have the mindset of Chamberlain. We try to appease the powers of sin and darkness in our lives. We avoid pain, struggle, or anything that might bring about discomfort. We define peace as an absence of conflict.
True peace is not about the absence of conflict. True peace comes when we have reoriented our relationship with God. It is when we are right with God that we recognize the real enemy. We see that it isn't our political opinions, sovereign nations, or each other. The real enemy is sin, and true peace readies us for battle.
I have always found it interesting that in Ephesians 6 a piece of the armor of God is "readiness given by the gospel of peace." The true peace of the gospel doesn't help us avoid conflict; it prepares us for it. So be a spiritual Churchill. Recognize the true enemy we face and prepare, putting on the full armor of God.
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