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Recently I was thrown into a challenge I really feared, but when it was over, I realized that it was God’s blessing to help me grow up. The challenge was to accept huge risk and trust that God would enable me to overcome it. Even more, the challenge was to accept the risk and trust that whatever the outcome, it would be God’s blessing and gift.

The problem was that our sailboat’s diesel engine, the power source that get us in and out of harbors or past tricky hazards, quit working when we were in a location where there was not a diesel mechanic to be found. We were hundreds of miles from help. Our sailboat was well designed for ocean passages, but we felt unready for this kind of a passage. We had never sailed anywhere without an engine to fall back on. To set out with sails only on a journey that would take days and cover hundreds of miles was a little scary.

We took the big risk, trusting that God would not abandon us. As we plotted our course and watched the weather, we prayed for wisdom and guidance. We had to trust that God’s gift of wisdom would enable us to know the right day to set out. Otherwise we might have continued to wait indefinitely for some specific sign that it was the right time to go.

The day came. We prayed Psalm 62 together, committing ourselves to use every gift and talent God had provided, trusting he would carry us through the challenges that exceeded our abilities. We raised the sail and headed out. We sailed through wild winds and strange currents. We sailed in the moonlight and the midday sun. We changed sails in the dark of night and in torrential downpours. Before things got better they got worse, as additional systems aboard picked this time to fail. We faced and solved problems we had never faced before, and at all times, we counted on God’s promise to be with us wherever we were. We grew in faith, and we grew in skill. This big risky situation became a rich blessing. Six days later, just before sunrise, we tied up at a dock in a boat service facility with a diesel mechanic.

Some people might suggest that we should have prayed for God to provide a diesel mechanic where we were. I have no doubt that God could have done exactly that, but we did not feel led to pray that way. We asked God for wisdom, and our best understanding of his response to that prayer was to sail the boat to some place where there already was a mechanic. We had to stretch ourselves beyond our experience. We had to take beginner skills and grow them into master skills. We trusted God to guide us all the way. We did not sit back and wait for God either to deliver a mechanic to us or to teleport us to a mechanic.

Some people might say that we ought to be able to take the risk of a sailing challenge on our own without bothering God. Save him for the diagnosis of cancer or the death of a child. The Bible teaches us that God will go with us through any challenge. He calls each person to unique challenges, because he has given each person unique gifts. God wants us to mature and develop the gifts with which he endowed us at creation. In fact, my experience leads me to believe that just as parents lead their children to new challenges in order to help them grow up, the Holy Spirit calls us into risky situations that help us mature in our faith.

God is never really done with us, either. At the age of eighty Moses was called by God to do a terrifying job. Moses tried every way possible to avoid doing it, because he saw how risky it was. God overruled all his objections, and said, “I will be with you.”

After the crucifixion of Jesus, his followers met in locked rooms, fearing that they, too, would be arrested and executed. Yet, on the day Jesus ascended into heaven, he told them to get out and tell the good news to everyone. Knowing their fears, and knowing how well justified the fears were, he told them to take that risk anyway, and he promised, “I will be with you.”

Moses took the risk. The disciples took the risk. My husband and I took the risk. Each of us discovered that when our resources had run out, when we could not think of anything more to do about the problem, God was still there. He carried us through. He didn’t speak a magic word and take us out of our troubles. Rather, he walked with us through the challenges. He nudged. He tipped the balance. He showed us a new idea. He inspired a new question. He comforted us in our fears.

We aren’t all called to lead half a million people across a sea. Some of us are called to explore creation and discover God’s handiwork in faraway places. Some of us draw. Some of us sing. Some of us repair diesel engines or build computers. Each of us is unique, and each of us has potential we will never discover if we sit on our hands and wait for God to prevent all the risks. The people who jump out of helicopters to snowboard down mountains know that reaching your limit and discovering that it isn’t a limit at all is a high that is better than drugs. We don’t have to be snowboarders to experience that rush. We simply need to be faithful followers of our Lord, ready to accept the risks we encounter, trusting that he always leads us for our blessing. It is a risk well worth taking.

Today I came to grips with a conflict I had not previously recognized. The more I try to live a life of faith with integrity, the more I encounter this sort of thing. The wisdom of the world is often in direct or indirect conflict with the teachings of Christ, and I don’t always see that conflict before I act. Sometimes my habits kick in before my commitment to be a blessing gets a word in. It happened yesterday, and the crucial habit was formed and honed twenty or more years ago. My reason for bringing it up is to ask how I participate in something that truly is business process improvement while maintaining my Christian commitment to speak a blessing and be a blessing in my business transactions.

 Worldly wisdom, and excellent business leaders, taught me long ago that every business is above all in the business of customer service. I learned it as an employee, and I expect it as a customer. When it doesn’t happen, I feel compelled to speak up and ask for change. That, too, was part of my business training. From the time I absorbed this truth as an employee right up to the present day, I have considered it my obligation to compliment businesses with excellent customer service and to help the others improve.

 I ran into just such a situation yesterday. I had set up my credit card account online to be paid from a checking account at my direction. Because of my lifestyle with only intermittent internet access, I need to make the most of that access when I have it. I considered that the job of setup for paying that account saved me all kinds of time when I needed to pay the bill. It worked beautifully for more than a year.

 All that changed, unbeknownst to me, when I opened a new checking account at the bank that had issued my credit card. Without asking me, or even notifying me, the bank invalidated my setup for payment and left me no option online except to take the payment from my new checking account. Unbeknownst to them, because they did not ask, I had designated the new checking account for a different purpose, and I did not expect to deposit the money for my credit card in that account. I expected, planned and purposed to use the money in the original checking account.

 I contacted customer service, expecting an apology and the immediate restoration of the plan that had already worked so well for me. My expectations were as fruitless as those of the famous Miss Haversham. The options they offered me were all tedious, time-consuming, inconvenient, and as far as I was concerned, unnecessary. My personal commitment to teaching businesses about customer service kicked in, and I expressed myself about this situation. I believe that I used the words “arrogant,” “presumptuous,” “poor customer service,” and “completely uncalled for.” It only got worse. The support representative told me that I had to call some other number in order to register my complaint, and no, I could not speak to her supervisor.

 Eventually the conversation ended, and I did thank the representative for doing what she could, which was nothing. I normally try to end all my business conversations with the words, “God bless you,” because I want to salt my conversations with faith speech. I think it is part of the work Christ has called each of us to do. However, I didn’t feel very faithful at that point. I knew that I had not been a blessing to the support representative, and I had complained bitterly about her and her employer. Still, I also felt that nothing would ever change if every customer simply accepted such things without comment. The behavior of the bank made me angry, so angry that I was actually sick at my stomach. Yet it was completely true that the person I was talking to could not change anything. I spoke and acted on the principle that if I complained long enough and assertively enough, she would surely tell the story over and over and maybe somebody who could do something about the broken processes would take action.

 Still, I worry about the fact that I did not bless the support representative by either my behavior or my words. I tried not to be rude, but I was aggressive and assertive, in the hope of actually getting to talk with someone who had power. It didn’t happen. What should I have done differently?

 At this moment, I don’t know. I do believe that there is something I need to change in myself for this kind of situation. I do believe that I should be a blessing to people I meet. Yet I found myself propelled by my profound indignation at the way the bank was treating me. I know very well that any other customer would be treated the same way, and I think it is bad business, because it will make customers hate the bank. Because I learned the responses in the world of business, I responded in a secular, completely business kind of way. I think there must be a solution that is Christlike, even as it advocates for better customer service to all customers.

 Is it because at the root, I was in it completely for me? Was I simply outraged personally to a degree that I lost touch with the Spirit within and started worshiping Self instead? What was the real problem here? I do think that customers must speak up when business processes are broken, but I feel that as a follower of Christ I must be mindful of the individual with whom I am speaking. She might have agreed with me that the bank was out of order, but she could hardly say so.

 I am making this a matter of prayer, but I would also like to hear the insights of others. There has to be a better way to advocate for good customer service while blessing the person with whom I am working. Can anybody help me?

Somebody once said that we should share Christ at all times and speak if necessary. It is a good reminder that people read our actions more than our words. If we expect to give faithful testimony, our actions are important. However, we can give the message more effectively and with a greater likelihood that it will be understood if we speak. People are likely to start looking at our deeds with a critical eye after we say something about loving the Lord, but our words are probably what gets their attention first.

 People sometimes think they need special words or methods in order to share their faith. They may fear that they will make a theological mistake. We need to get over those concerns. Christianity is a way of living shaped by a relationship with Christ. If I am talking about life, I am talking about my life in relationship with Christ. When I speak intentionally or unintentionally about my relationship with Christ in conversation with another person I am testifying in the biblical sense. It need not be a speech, and I need not ask the other person in the conversation to concur in my faith. I simply need to speak about my faith with the same simplicity and natural words I use when speaking about cooking or the books I read.

 I have not yet reached a place where I need not work at intentional testimony. It happens more readily now than it used to, but I must still push myself sometimes. I think one of Satan’s best squelches is the contemporary habit of taking offense at everything. It is easy for me to avoid faith speech if I start to worry about offending someone. I get the idea of inviting someone to church, but as I face that person and start looking for the right moment, I get a little frisson of fear. What if it makes them angry? What if they don’t want to be friends any more? It is easier to get past that moment by reminding myself that I am who I am and I need to be honest about it. Maybe we should stop using the words “witness” or “testimony” so heavily. Maybe we should simply say that faith speech is being honest about who we are in relationship with Christ at all times.

 Faith speech is not a sermon. It is normal conversation that can take many forms. It isn’t all about converts, either. Faith speech links believers to one another just as surely as it attracts those who do not believe yet. Faith speech is part of our ministry of encouragement to one another. In fact, faith speech encourages the speaker, too. It comes in many forms.

• Would you like to visit my church with me this Sunday?
•  God loves you.
•  God bless you.
•  You are in my prayers.

 People in dressy clothes on Sunday morning in a marina attract attention. When we lived in a marina, we walked to church every Sunday morning, and later in the week we would see people who asked, “Where were you going all dressed up?” That question gave us opportunities to invite people to go to church with us. Not too many actually joined us, but occasionally someone would. People knew what we believed, and sometimes they said things like, “I know you go to church, so ….”

 After I became more intentional in faith speech, I found numerous opportunities to say, “God loves you.” The world is a troubled place, and people have problems. I am constantly amazed at the things people tell me about their problems. When they do, my first response is often, “God loves you.” I say those words, because I want to remind them that God is not the source of the problems. People say, “I think God is testing me,” and I want them to know that God is not in the business of giving us grades. God sent Christ to die for us. The God who loves us that much is not going to instigate evil in our lives. The evil comes from elsewhere, not from God. When I testify to God’s love, it often, but not always, leads to a deeper conversation.

 When I made up my mind to be more faithful in testimony, I wanted some easy way to inject faith speech into my conversation. I seized on the very common phrase, “Have a nice day.” Most cashiers say those words as the customer is leaving, and I started responding with the words, “God bless you.” I get all kinds of reactions, but many people say, “Thank you.” No matter what the reaction, I know that they get my message, which is more than just a blessing; it is a reminder, a prick, a word of love, a little surprise in the middle of the day. I think it would be wimpy to say, “God bless.” A blessing needs an object. I say, “God bless you,” and the blessing falls on the person I am speaking to.

 Sometimes the simple words, “God bless you,” lead to a lot more. I don’t say them only to cashiers. I like to say those words in parting at what seems to be the end of a conversation, and more than once the conversation has restarted with a new direction. Those simple faith words are used by the Holy Spirit for real blessing to me and others.

 Sometimes people tell me things that immediately call for prayer. When an acquaintance e-mailed me that she had been laid off from her job, I wrote back with a prayer for her in the e-mail. I don’t know what this person believes about God, but I know what God believes about her. God loves her. When I hear such news in the checkout line at the grocery store, I respond, “I will pray for you.” I pray silently right then and there that God will help this person find work that is fulfilling and pays the bills. When I get home, I add that person to my prayer journal. Maybe I will see that person again, maybe not, but I have spoken in faith, and the Holy Spirit will work with that testimony.

 There are opportunities for faith speech in all sorts of conversations. The important thing is to be completely honest. If someone says, “I don’t know how anyone believes in God any more,” I must honestly say, “Well, I do.” Someone saw me writing and asked, “What do you write about?” I answered, “I write about the Christian life.” She responded, “Oh, I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God,” to which I replied, “That’s okay. He loves you anyway.” We don’t need to be stuffy, and we leave judgment to God. Jesus said that no matter where we go, we should never stop talking about him. Our Christian testimony is not a complicated thing. Speaking words of faith is really just living and breathing our faith.

If you saw someone shoot and kill your neighbor, you could help the police with your eyewitness report, and you could testify at the trial of the murderer. Your testimony might even help to put a murder behind bars. Sadly, nothing you could do in that process would ever bring your neighbor back to life.

 What if your testimony could bring someone to life? Would you do it?

 Every follower of Christ has a testimony that can help someone find new life in Christ. Every one of us can be witnesses to what Christ has done for us, and when we do that, we share words and deeds that may be used by the Holy Spirit to transform someone’s heart. We don’t need a degree in theology, nor do we need to be ordained to give this testimony. In fact, we don’t even need to have memorized somebody else’s testimony. We simply need to be honest and open about our relationship with Christ.

 I think we make it too hard, because we really do think we don’t know enough. I also think we fear the repercussion if someone rejects the message. These are two different problems, and we need to get over them.

 First, we do know enough. One of the easiest ways to be open about our relationship with Christ is to invite someone to church. To do that clearly testifies that Christ is part of our lives, and to invite someone to go with us ought to be as normal as to invite them to go with us to a football game or an art exhibition. We invite our friends to join us in activities we enjoy. There are many other ways to share God’s love, too. If we let God lead us, it can be as natural as talking about new babies and family reunions.

 Second, there could be repercussions, but you might be surprised how infrequently people get angry about it. I have invited people who didn’t go to church with me. I have said, “God loves you,” to people who replied that they don’t believe in God. I have never had anyone attack me, although one man did say “I guess being Lutheran is the next best thing to being a Christian.” I have never had anyone shout at me so far.

 Maybe the biggest hurdle for some people is the idea that there is a special “authorized” way to testify to our faith. There isn’t. If you doubt me, read how Jesus talked to people. He started where they were. For the woman at the well, he simply asked for a drink of water. For Zaccheus, he invited himself to dinner. When a lawyer tried to entrap him in a semantic argument, he told a story. I think our best testimony is offered when we simply speak of our faith as naturally as we speak of our children or our work. We don’t need to stress over it; we simply need to let it out.

 It is important to think about why we don’t testify more often, because it is even more important to remember why we do testify. We testify, because faithful testimony for Christ pushes back evil. We testify, because the only hope for a world full of people with broken hearts is the grace, forgiveness and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. We may not see the fruit of our testimony in many people’s lives, but we leave that work to the Holy Spirit.

 The next time you speak with someone and feel a nudge that says, “This person needs the Lord,” don’t ignore that nudge. Pay attention. Watch for the right moment to say, “Would you like to come to church with me this Sunday?” or simply say, “God loves you.” Follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Our world needs a lot more faith speech spread around. Jesus said that we are to be the light of the world. Some of us appear to be saving our lights for a darker night. It’s dark enough already. Let your light shine.

Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth, and he said that if salt loses its saltiness, then it is worthless. What did Jesus mean by calling his followers “salt?”

 I think he meant that we are to do what salt does.

 If I add salt to food, the flavor of the food is enhanced. The best cooks add only enough salt to bring out the flavor of the food, not so much salt that the saltiness overwhelms the flavor. Salt brings out natural flavors, much as a light reveals objects hidden by darkness.

 If we know what salt is and what it does, what does that mean for our lives in the faith? I think it means that as we go about our daily lives, we are to have an effect on the flavor of our culture.

 There is considerable evidence that we Christians have not done a very good job of flavoring our culture. One of the big lies of our day is that people love Buddhism, because it is a way of life, and they reject Christianity, because it is a system of beliefs. Jesus never suggested that his followers carry a checklist of beliefs with them and post it everywhere. While some Christians have tried to create theocracies and haul people into court for religious transgressions, Jesus did not teach us to do that. Jesus said, “If you want to be my follower, you must knock SELF off the throne of your heart, pick up the instrument of your own death and carry it with you wherever I lead you.” [my paraphrase of Luke 9:23] A system of beliefs is shaped in a theological courtroom. A way of life is shaped as we go about living selfless lives and following  Jesus. In fact, the last words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven as translated in the International Standard Version read, “as you go, disciple ….” [Matthew 28:19] In other words, “Whatever you are doing, wherever you go, keep talking about me.”

 If we are going to be the salt of the earth, then we need to be sprinkling salt around no matter where we go, no matter what we are doing. The official word for that kind of activity is “testimony.” Our testimony is often misinterpreted as a vehicle for proselytizing. If our testimony is true, then it will almost certainly attract converts, but that is not the only reason for testimony, or for being salt. We testify, because the gospel bubbles up inside and demands to be released.

 The Psalmist had the same experience we have. He said that in the presence of the wicked, he was tempted to shut up and not speak about the Lord. It didn’t work. He said, “I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse, my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.” [Psalm 39:2-3] We need to speak of our faith and to act on our faith, because it is the truth and because the truth wants out. As Thomas Long said, in Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian, “We would need to talk about God to be truthful, to be whole, for life to be full.” 

 In the book of Revelation, John, the author, depicts world history in a phantasmagoria of flaming violence. His graphic imagery shows us the importance of worship and testimony. His original audience lived in a culture that worshiped human beings and imaginary gods, all represented by exquisite statuary housed in magnificent architecture. We twentieth century Christians tend to focus on the fact that the gods were fake and to forget that they were the instruments of political power. To worship the emperor was to commit oneself publicly to his agenda. Christians were not suppressed out of any fear of their faith or their God; they were suppressed because their unwillingness to worship the emperor made them political enemies.

 It is the same today. The political fear of religious expression is a fear of the way that expression impacts behavior. Our faith is a slap in the face to legalism, political sellouts, and speech deliberately crafted to hide truth.

 We Christians must resist the temptation to shut up about our faith as a polite response to cultural fear of our faith words. We must speak truth, and we must be fearless and resolute about it. I don’t suggest that we march in the streets with placards that read “The End is Near.” Rather, I suggest that just as we would freely talk about a new baby in the family or a child about to graduate from college, we talk about what God is doing in our lives. We need to reject political correctness, which is, by the way, censorship of free speech, and speak truth. We must speak and act with honesty and commitment to our faith in order to protect our right to continue doing that.

 This assertion may sound aggressive. Maybe it is. However, it is rooted in my belief that the founders of this country had it right when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that liberty is a right given by God to every human. I believe that as a human being, God has granted me liberty to choose what I will believe. God gives me the freedom to be a Buddhist or a Muslim or an atheist or a Christian or any other form of religion or non-religion. I believe that God gives me the liberty to believe what I choose and to act on that belief insofar as it does not harm others, and I believe that when I tell the truth about what God means to me and what he does in my life, I am not harming anyone. I likewise believe that if a Muslim wants to observe Ramadan, he is not harming me. I don’t believe I should be prohibited from praying, and I don’t believe an atheist should be forced to pray. According to our founding documents, and according to the Constitution, we both have the right to free expression of our views.

 We Christians are in danger of trying to be so correct politically that we lose our saltiness. If we shut up and go underground and stop being visible in the culture, we will not add any flavor to society. We need to stop hiding. We need to practice our faith in full view of the world. Jesus told us never to stop talking about him. It is time for us to speak and live the truth in public. We need to sprinkle the salt of God’s truth all around. If we do that, maybe human society won’t leave such a bad taste in our mouths.

Seek justice Isaiah 1:17

 I have a real problem with the word justice. There are many biblical admonitions to seek justice and to do justice, yet the connotations of that word make me cringe when I read it or hear it. Many people use it in public discourse, yet I hear overtones in their words and see evidence in their attitudes toward the people involved that let me know that justice is a cover word, a code word, for revenge, payback, or retribution. These concepts are completely alien to the meaning of justice yet they have come to be closely associated with the word and usually find expression in the word fair. People do not want a “just” solution to social problems; they want a “fair” solutions, and fairness demands payback. We see this notion work out daily in monstrous settlements to lawsuits. The recompense for error may be small, but the recompense for the “insult” (the settlement amount that pays the plaintiff back for the insult of it all) may be in the millions of dollars. The very fact that such settlements must be so huge tells us all that the settlement will not end the wound inflicted by the “insult” and the “fair” solution will not end the problem.

The word “justice” as used in public discourse reeks of political agendas. We hear the word when black people today want to punish white people today for slavery. This objective is pursued despite the fact that white people today are not slaveowners, and black people today are not slaves. I hear it in the conversations about issues between employer and employee, union boss versus capitalist boss, lender versus borrower, and so forth. The word justice is used in public discourse with a pejorative edge toward some real or alleged wrongdoing now or in the past.

God clearly wants justice on the earth, but I think it is evident that, in God’s eyes, justice takes a poor second to mercy and love, grace and forgiveness. When something is broken it is likely possible to craft an equitable fix. However, the just solution won’t stop the demand for “fairness,” because the wounds have not been healed.

Justice alone heals nothing.

When slavery ended in the USA as a consequence of the Civil War, justice was served. The slaves were free. The slaveowners had to find some other way to get the work done. Unfortunately, the people who were no longer slaves were not healed of their righteous resentment of the generations of cruel oppression wrought against them and their ancestors. Slaveowners were not healed of their attitudes that made them believe that black people were less than human.

Because slaveowners (and people who had never had slaves but shared the attitude) were not healed, segregation replaced slavery, and vigilante enforcement of segregation took the form of egregious acts against black people. Because black people were not healed, either, they responded as one would expect. Riots and violence erupted between black and white human beings. Because no one was healed, the country suffered as much from segregation as from slavery.

When segregation ended with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, justice was served, but nobody was healed. Many white people still felt that black people were inherently inferior, and they behaved accordingly. The government could grant civil rights, but it could not change hearts. Black people still had neither money, power nor prestige, and they still resented the attitudes that no law could ever repair. The wounds inflicted by evil attitudes growing out of loveless relationships still bled, festered, burned with fever in both black and white hearts.

Jesus did not die on the cross to bring about justice. He died to bring forgiveness, grace and mercy because of God’s love. He died to bring healing and reconciliation.

People pursue justice in the name of Jesus, and that is good, as long as the pursuit does not use weapons of venomous language coupled with demands for retribution. The pursuit of justice to right the wrongs of today between black and white, or between “boss” and “worker,” or between lender and borrower, or any other wrong-doing is a pursuit of an equitable solution that brings about and equitable, just, legal footing for future relationships. The past is history. It is not possible to punish or reward people long dead. To require that as part of an “equitable” solution is not justice. It is revenge.

Revenge never heals anything. Those who pursue revenge always expect to feel better once they achieve it, but it never happens. The recipient of retribution quickly discovers that the heart wound that started the whole process is still miserably painful. Money is not a balm to a wounded spirit.

Justice will not heal a broken world. In fact, it is not unreasonable to say that justice may only exacerbate the brokenness as the wounded unite in a cry, “That’s not enough! You need to do more!”

What the world needs is healing. When relationships are healed and combatants are reconciled, then justice has a chance to work for good. To imagine, however, that justice will end evil is to engage in fantasy. Evil is present in each of us. It works through the SELF enthroned in our hearts, ceaselessly whispering that we deserve more and somebody else got our fair share. SELF insists that things would be more pleasant and more comfortable “if only….” Justice cannot root out evil or topple SELF. If that were possible, we would no longer need either police or regulatory agencies.

Therefore, let us pursue justice and temper our expectations with love for one another. Let black and white, boss and employer, lender and borrower, all bear one another’s burdens with love, grace, forgiveness and mercy. No matter what we say about justice, it is healing that we want. We want the pain to go away. The only balm for that pain is flowing in the blood of Christ, shed on the cross for all people.

The gospel of Matthew opens with the story of Joseph’s dream in which an angel reassures him about Mary’s pregnancy, telling him that it is the fulfillment of God’s promise of the Messiah, whose name, “Emmanuel” means “God is with us.” The gospel continues with the story of Jesus’ life and work. The last words of Jesus in this gospel are, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:20] At the time when Matthew wrote, late in the first century, people who had seen Jesus in the flesh were dying off. The growing community of faith needed to be reminded that the indwelling Holy Spirit was the evidence that God truly was present with them and in them.

All these thousands of years later, we still need that reminder. When circumstances conspire to make us feel afraid and helpless, Satan tempts us to think that God has abandoned us. He makes us ask, “If God loves you, why did this terrible thing happen?” We need reassurance that the Holy Spirit is truly present and that in the person of the Holy Spirit, God never abandons us.

My husband and I recently had an experience that brought home the truth that God is always with us, even when we are not paying attention. It is important for us to remember that God’s presence with us does not negate the operation of the laws of physics or meteorology. God has promised that as long as the laws of nature work the way they are supposed to, his love is sure. We want those laws to work. However, when we become captive to them and unable to help ourselves, then it is very good to know that God is with us and that he will work for our good in amazing and wonderful ways. Above all that, whether or not the outcome is just what we hoped for, he is present with us to give us peace with the situation as it develops for good or ill.

We cruised southward one morning toward a destination about a day’s sail from our departure point. As will happen to sailors, however, along the way, we spied a little cove on the chart that looked attractive. We said to ourselves that we could go to our planned destination the next day as we turned aside to our new adventure. We studied the charts, and we studied the notes in guide books. I stood on the bow to spot hazards, and Larry was at the helm to steer to our anchorage.

As will happen sometimes, we became disoriented in the unfamiliar surroundings. Then, caught in a current and uncertain of the correct course, we ran aground. As we tried to steer off the reef, the engine stopped and refused to restart.

In the US, such a situation is annoying, but not the end of the world. Boaters unable to free themselves simply call for a tow, sigh at the cost if they don’t have insurance, and move on. In the Bahamas, the situation is much different. There is no tow service. The Bahamian rescue service is truly focused on rescue in life-and-death situations. A simple mistake that puts a boat aground is the boater’s problem. Boaters are responsible for themselves, and they are well-advised to stay out of trouble if they don’t know how to deal with it. “Knowing” that is the result of reading how to deal with the problem is not, however, the same thing as “knowing” as a result of having done it. We had read the solution, but we had never performed the solution.

On the off chance that there might be someone around who operated a tow service anyway, we made a radio call. No result. Hoping that the Bahamian rescue service could put us in touch with someone who could tow us off, we called them. They could not hear us, although later a marina manager served as a relay between us and them. Still, that communication confirmed their commitment to embark on a rescue only if lives were in danger. Our boat was not taking on water, and nobody was even injured, let alone in a life-threatening crisis. We were on our own.

Every day as we sail or motor in our adventures, I pray that we will have wisdom to use our skills and experience in whatever circumstances come our way. I always pray that we will be safe. This day was no exception, but sitting aboard our grounded vessel, not knowing how we would ever get free without an engine, I prayed that we would see a solution. We knew that the recommended course of action involved deploying an anchor in deeper water and using it to pull ourselves off the rocks, but it was going to take time to do that job, because our dinghy was deflated and wrapped up on deck. We could not possibly throw the anchor far enough to help, and we could not inflate the dinghy, deploy it in the water, attach the outboard and get the anchor out in less than an hour. Still, time was wasting and we got started.

Then we heard a call on the radio. “No Boundaries, No Boundaries. This is Duet.” When we answered the call, we learned that a couple anchored behind a nearby island had heard our radio distress call. They had the “knowing” that comes from experience with grounding, and they were on their way to help. I prayed thanks that someone was coming, even if all they did was keep us company. When they arrived, however, they wasted no time in helping us get started with the solution that would actually get us off the rocks.

I remember that when we first went aground, I began to pray, and even as the hopeless surges of fear arose in my stomach, I also felt reassured that something would work. Most of all, I felt reassured that God was with us, a sense of things that only grew more certain as Bill and Barb from S/V Duet worked side by side with us to get us off those rocks. We all worked for hours, because this was no trivial problem. The wind was blowing at more than 20 mph, a great speed for sailing, but problematic in this situation. The tidal currents at the time of our grounding complicated our problem, because they were running strongly in a direction that forced us farther onto the reef. Around noon, the tide changed, and by then we were ready to take advantage of the current, thanks to our wonderful new friends. Around 1:30 in the afternoon, we all sat down in the cockpit to rest. The boat was afloat. Two anchors held us in place against both wind and current. As our new friends departed in their dinghy, we gave thanks for their help and for our new safe location. We felt deeply blessed by the kindness of these people. The Bible tells of many situations in which angels arrive to give messages and help people, and we felt pretty sure that Bill and Barb were angels. In days to come, they followed up with radio calls to be sure we were doing well. When we overheard their response to another boat that had run aground nearby, we became convinced that they were, indeed, angels, and the crew of the other boat agreed with us.

Our situation was no longer dire, but we still did not have an engine. Because our boat is a sailboat, however, we did have the option to sail out of the anchorage if Larry were unable to repair the engine and if wind and wave were appropriate for sailing. Bill and Barb had specifically planned for that possibility when they left us anchored directly in front of the entrance to the cove. We all thought that position poised us for success if we had to sail out. When all was said and done, Larry and I gave thanks for our new friends, and we gave thanks for God’s care for us in the difficult situation. The heavy weight of fear that had seized us at the moment of grounding was lifted, and we felt genuine relief.

The next day, we were still safely at anchor, but much more uncomfortable. The weather had changed. Winds directly from the east were pushing big waves at us through the opening that had seemed so convenient the day before. We were pummeled by the combination of the waves from the ocean and the ferocious tidal currents. We could not possibly sail out against the combined force of wind and current. Our anchors were under fearful strain, which began to produce a new problem. Our primary anchor was equipped with heavy chain all the way to its point of attachment to the boat. Our secondary, however, had only 75 feet of chain, after which the remaining rode was rope. The way we had anchored the first day put the secondary anchor in a location that gave it the primary stress on the second day, and that stress was beginning to chafe the rope rode. We scrambled to find gear to prevent the chafing, but none of our interventions was reliable for any length of time. We could not remain anchored like this, because the chafing would eventually part our rope rode, and we would lose our secondary anchor, not to mention that we would risk being blown back onto the reef again. We could not go, and we could not stay. Larry struggled with the engine problem to no avail. We prayed and watched and did what we could to alleviate the situation.

Once again, Bill from Duet stepped in to help. He saw a passing boat with huge twin outboards, and he hailed the captain with a request to help us move to a better location. After M/V Cutting Edge arrived, he helped us raise both of our anchors and then towed our boat to a location out of the current and more sheltered from wind. We felt pretty sure that he was an angel, too, and we prayed God’s blessings on him as he departed to continue his fishing trip. Again, we felt blessed and secure. Our new location was a place where we could safely remain until we either got the engine going or saw the right window to sail out, even if that were many days hence. We could not doubt for a minute that God was present with us. Once again, just when we were at the end of our abilities, God provided what we needed.

The next day was Sunday. As we prepared for our normal worship aboard, we commented to each other that we had more reason than usual to worship and praise God. So many good things had happened to us that we surely needed to give him thanks and praise more than ever. We could not focus on the bad things. They seemed trivial by comparison with our blessings. We worshiped. We prayed. We sang psalms and hymns. We celebrated God’s presence and power in our lives. We had no doubt that he was watching over us, present with us.

That afternoon, Larry went back to work on the engine. He went back to step one for analysis and trouble-shooting. He worked deliberately through all the steps, and eventually the moment came when the engine roared back to life. Again, we had something to be thankful for. The final piece of the solution was in place. We were no longer refugees looking for a way out; we were again cruisers exploring and adventuring. We shouted our thanks to God, and then we prayed together.

Throughout this experience we had the comforting presence of God in the midst of all our troubles. God did not step in and overturn the laws of nature. He did not work any magic on the boat or the engine. He did not teleport us to a diesel mechanic, or teleport a mechanic to us. He simply remained with us all the way. The solution worked out in simple steps. At each step, we felt relieved and thankful, and at each step we first thought that we ourselves would be able to manage the next step. When that proved impossible, God gave us just what we needed, no more and no sooner than we needed it. Materials managers would call it “Just in Time.” We call it God’s faithful provision and presence in our lives.

This probably won’t be the last time we go aground. People who cruise in the Bahamas take that possibility as a given. If we do ground again, we have the experience, enlightened by our angelic friends from S/V Duet, to help ourselves. We are learning a variety of skills in navigation, weather and survival. All that learning and growth is good. The best thing we have learned, however, is not about us. It is about God. We have learned that God truly is with us. He never abandons us. He gives us peace when we have no idea how we will solve or survive the next problem. This peace transcends any skill level or accomplishment we might ever have.

I have not always relied on God the way I do now. I am learning more and more every day how critical his presence is. Far from making me reckless, the confidence that he is present makes me more careful. When I am frightened, it allows me to do what my mother called, “making haste slowly,” to take my time to get all the facts and move forward with care. Knowing that God is with us, we have the peace to assess the situation and make a better decision. Knowing that God is with us, we know that he won’t abandon us if our best guess is wrong.

I am glad that Matthew recorded the story of Joseph’s dream and the explanation of the name “Emmanuel.” I’m glad that Matthew’s story of Jesus repeats that theme as Jesus’ promise to all generations. The promise and the experience of God’s presence enrich my life every day. When Satan tempts me to wonder if God cares or to ask why God let this happen, I can respond with faith nurtured by experience. Faith must, by definition, act in the absence of certainty, but my certainty about past experience builds up my faith that future experiences will only reveal more about the wonderful presence of God. I don’t know what else I will learn about prayer as we travel, but I have already learned that God is not kidding when he says, “I will not leave you or forsake you.”

The gospel of Matthew opens with the story of Joseph’s dream in which an angel reassures him about Mary’s pregnancy, telling him that it is the fulfillment of God’s promise of the Messiah, whose name, “Emmanuel” means “God is with us.” The gospel continues with the story of Jesus’ life and work. The last words of Jesus in this gospel are, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:20] At the time when Matthew wrote, late in the first century, people who had seen Jesus in the flesh were dying off. The growing community of faith needed to be reminded that the indwelling Holy Spirit was the evidence that God truly was present with them and in them.

All these thousands of years later, we still need that reminder. When circumstances conspire to make us feel afraid and helpless, Satan tempts us to think that God has abandoned us. He makes us ask, “If God loves you, why did this terrible thing happen?” We need reassurance that the Holy Spirit is truly present and that in the person of the Holy Spirit, God never abandons us.

My husband and I recently had an experience that brought home the truth that God is always with us, even when we are not paying attention. It is important for us to remember that God’s presence with us does not negate the operation of the laws of physics or meteorology. God has promised that as long as the laws of nature work the way they are supposed to, his love is sure. We want those laws to work. However, when we become captive to them and unable to help ourselves, then it is very good to know that God is with us and that he will work for our good in amazing and wonderful ways. Above all that, whether or not the outcome is just what we hoped for, he is present with us to give us peace with the situation as it develops for good or ill.

We cruised southward one morning toward a destination about a day’s sail from our departure point. As will happen to sailors, however, along the way, we spied a little cove on the chart that looked attractive. We said to ourselves that we could go to our planned destination the next day as we turned aside to our new adventure. We studied the charts, and we studied the notes in guide books. I stood on the bow to spot hazards, and Larry was at the helm to steer to our anchorage.

As will happen sometimes, we became disoriented in the unfamiliar surroundings. Then, caught in a current and uncertain of the correct course, we ran aground. As we tried to steer off the reef, the engine stopped and refused to restart.

In the US, such a situation is annoying, but not the end of the world. Boaters unable to free themselves simply call for a tow, sigh at the cost if they don’t have insurance, and move on. In the Bahamas, the situation is much different. There is no tow service. The Bahamian rescue service is truly focused on rescue in life-and-death situations. A simple mistake that puts a boat aground is the boater’s problem. Boaters are responsible for themselves, and they are well-advised to stay out of trouble if they don’t know how to deal with it. “Knowing” that is the result of reading how to deal with the problem is not, however, the same thing as “knowing” as a result of having done it. We had read the solution, but we had never performed the solution.

On the off chance that there might be someone around who operated a tow service anyway, we made a radio call. No result. Hoping that the Bahamian rescue service could put us in touch with someone who could tow us off, we called them. They could not hear us, although later a marina manager served as a relay between us and them. Still, that communication only confirmed their commitment to rescue if lives were in danger.

Every day as we sail or motor in our adventures, I pray that we will have wisdom to use our skills and experience in whatever circumstances come our way. I always pray that we will be safe. This day was no exception, but sitting aboard our grounded vessel, not knowing how we would ever get free without an engine, I prayed that we would see a solution. We knew that the recommended course of action involved deploying an anchor in deeper water and using it to pull ourselves off the rocks, but it was going to take time to do that job, because our dinghy was deflated and wrapped up on deck. We could not possibly throw the anchor far enough to help, and we could not inflate the dinghy, deploy it in the water, attach the outboard and get the anchor out very soon. We were in a big mess.

Then we heard a call on the radio. “No Boundaries, No Boundaries. This is Duet.” When we answered the call, we learned that a couple anchored behind a nearby island had heard our radio distress call. They had the “knowing” that comes from experience with grounding, and they were on their way to help. I prayed thanks that someone was coming, even if all they did was keep us company. When they arrived, however, they wasted no time in helping us get started with the solution that would actually get us off the rocks.

I remember that when we first went aground, I began to pray, and even as the hopeless surges of fear arose in my stomach, I also felt reassured that something would work. Most of all, I felt reassured that God was with us, a sense of things that only grew more certain as Bill and Barb from S/V Duet worked side by side with us to get us off those rocks. We all worked for hours, because this was no trivial problem. The wind was blowing at more than 20 mph, a great speed for sailing, but problematic in this situation. The tidal currents at the time of our grounding complicated our problem, because they were running strongly in a direction that forced us farther onto the reef. Around noon, the tide changed, and by then we were ready to take advantage of the current, thanks to our wonderful new friends. Around 1:30 in the afternoon, we all sat down in the cockpit to rest. The boat was afloat. Two anchors held us in place against both wind and current. As our new friends departed in their dinghy, we gave thanks for their help and for our new safe location. We felt deeply blessed by the kindness of these people. The Bible tells of many situations in which angels arrive to give messages and help people, and we felt pretty sure that Bill and Barb were angels. In days to come, they followed up with radio calls to be sure we were doing well. When we overheard their response to another boat that had run aground nearby, we became convinced that they were, indeed, angels, and the crew of the other boat agreed with us.

Our situation was no longer dire, but we still did not have an engine. Because our boat is a sailboat, however, we did have the option to sail out of the anchorage if Larry were unable to repair the engine. Bill and Barb had specifically planned for that possibility when they left us anchored directly in front of the entrance to the cove. We all thought that position poised us for success if we had to sail out. When all was said and done, Larry and I gave thanks for our new friends, and we gave thanks for God’s care for us in the difficult situation. The heavy weight of fear that had seized us at the moment of grounding was lifted, and we felt genuine relief.

The next day, we were still safely at anchor, but much more uncomfortable. The weather had changed. Winds directly from the east were pushing big waves at us, and we were pummeled by the combination of the waves from the ocean and the ferocious tidal currents. We could not possibly sail out against the combined force of wind and current. Our anchors were under fearful strain, which began to produce a new problem. Our primary anchor was equipped with heavy chain all the way to its point of attachment to the boat. Our secondary, however, had only 75 feet of chain, after which the remaining rode was rope. The way we had anchored the first day put the secondary anchor in a location that gave it the primary stress on the second day, and that stress was beginning to chafe the rope rode. We scrambled to find gear to prevent the chafing, but none of our interventions was reliable for any length of time. We could not remain anchored like this, because the chafing would eventually part our rope rode, and we would lose our secondary anchor. We could not go, and we could not stay. Larry struggled with the engine problem to no avail. We prayed and watched and did what we could to alleviate the situation.

Once again, Bill from Duet stepped in to help. He saw a passing boat with huge twin outboards, and he hailed the captain with a request to help us move to a better location. After M/V Cutting Edge arrived, he helped us raise both of our anchors and then towed our boat to a location out of the current and more sheltered from wind. We felt pretty sure that he was an angel, too, and we prayed God’s blessings on him as he departed to continue his fishing trip. Again, we felt blessed and secure. Our new location was a place where we could safely remain until we either got the engine going or saw the right window to sail out, even if that were many days hence. We could not doubt for a minute that God was present with us. Once again, just when we were at the end of our abilities, God provided what we needed.

The next day was Sunday. As we prepared for our normal worship aboard, we commented to each other that we had more reason than usual to worship and praise God. So many good things had happened to us that we surely needed to give him thanks and praise more than ever. We could not focus on the bad things. They seemed trivial by comparison with our blessings. We worshiped. We prayed. We sang psalms and hymns. We celebrated God’s presence and power in our lives. We had no doubt that he was watching over us, present with us.

That afternoon, Larry went back to work on the engine. He went back to step one for analysis and trouble-shooting. He worked deliberately through all the steps, and eventually the moment came when the engine roared back to life. Again, we had something to be thankful for. The final piece of the solution was in place. We were no longer refugees looking for a way out; we were again cruisers exploring and adventuring. We shouted our thanks to God, and then we prayed together.

Throughout this experience we had the comforting presence of God in the midst of all our troubles. God did not step in and overturn the laws of nature. He did not work any magic on the boat or the engine. He did not teleport us to a diesel mechanic, or teleport a mechanic to us. He simply remained with us all the way. The solution worked out in simple steps. At each step, we felt relieved and thankful, and at each step we first thought that we ourselves would be able to manage the next step. When that proved impossible, God gave us just what we needed, no more and no sooner than we needed it. Materials managers would call it “Just in Time.” We call it God’s faithful provision and presence in our lives.

This probably won’t be the last time we go aground. People who cruise in the Bahamas take that possibility as a given. If we do ground again, we have the experience, enlightened by our angelic friends from S/V Duet, to help ourselves. We are learning a variety of skills in navigation, weather and survival. All that learning and growth is good. The best thing we have learned, however, is not about us. It is about God. We have learned that God truly is with us. He never abandons us. He gives us peace when we have no idea how we will solve or survive the next problem. This peace transcends any skill level or accomplishment we might ever have.

I have not always relied on God the way I do now. I am learning more and more every day how critical his presence is. Far from making me reckless, the confidence that he is present makes me more careful. When I am frightened, it allows me to do what my mother called, “making haste slowly,” to take my time to get all the facts and move forward with care. Knowing that God is with us, we have the peace to assess the situation and make a better decision. Knowing that God is with us, we know that he won’t abandon us if our best guess is wrong.

I am glad that Matthew recorded the story of Joseph’s dream and the explanation of the name “Emmanuel.” I’m glad that Matthew’s story of Jesus repeats that theme as Jesus’ promise to all generations. The promise and the experience of God’s presence enrich my life every day. When Satan tempts me to wonder if God cares or to ask why God let this happen, I can respond with faith nurtured by experience. Faith must, by definition, act in the absence of certainty, but my certainty about past experience builds up my faith that future experiences will only reveal more about the wonderful presence of God. I don’t know what else I will learn about prayer as we travel, but I have already learned that God is not kidding when he says, “I will not leave you or forsake you.”

 When I was growing up, my mother assured peace in the family by force. My brother and I had a thousand reasons to bicker and quarrel, but Mother squelched irascible behavior by means of creative and onerous punishments. She wanted peace, and she achieved it by means of aggression and power if she had to. Communities faced with rising crime and nations faced with internal rebellion or external aggression do exactly what my mother did. They undertake to enforce or “keep” the peace by making unpeaceful behavior painful.

Unfortunately, my mother’s punishments did not transform the attitudes that led to brawling between my brother and me. We may not have bickered or yelled or hit each other, but our objectives, and objections, grated and ground on our spirits with the result that our sense of being wounded and oppressed made us angrier, not more amiable. More police on the streets or more soldiers on the battlefield do not transform the attitudes that made them necessary, either. The “peace” that exists due to fear of punishment is not at all peaceful. The situation between two siblings or between two nations may have the appearance of peace, because no aggression is being acted out. Under the cover of polite words, however, everyone is scheming to find a way to achieve the goal of the aggression without incurring the pain of the punishment. 

Such a situation only looks like peace when we are willing to consider the lack of aggressive behavior as peace. Better laws, stronger enforcement, harsher punishments, more powerful guns, more soldiers on the ground – all these efforts may contain or even suppress aggression between opposing parties. They will never transform the attitudes of the opposing parties and bring peace to their relationships with each other. 

The breakup of Yugoslavia after the end of the Cold War is a perfect model for the inability of force to bring peace. Yugoslavia was created by gluing together a number of political entities that had fought with each other for hundreds of years. The country of Yugoslavia was governed by military force, which ruthlessly suppressed aggressive behavior between historic enemies. The country appeared to be at peace, but the enmity and hatred that existed before Yugoslavia never died.  The death of the strong man who had made it all work precipitated the death of the fake peace that had existed there. History is littered with “peaceful” solutions that are only facades that cover smoldering resentments that flare explosively when the enforcing power disappears.

 At the end of World War II, a lot of people put their faith in a movement to create a world-wide forum where disputes and aggression could be worked out with words, not bullets, and the United Nations was born. The UN was to be the place where nations could settle disputes peaceably. We could finally bring an end to war.

 Sadly, this dream, too, is now dust. Rather than a forum where disputes are resolved, the UN has simply become a place where chicanery and human greed find yet another opportunity to flourish. The world has not become a more peaceful place due to the existence of the UN. In fact, the history of the UN is a demonstration that even a peaceful forum does not transform attitudes. The nations of the world come together with the same agendas that have sent them to the battlefield, and if any nation fails to achieve its objective in the UN, it proceeds to the tried and true methods of aggression and military action just as if the UN did not exist.

 Why don’t we have world peace? Why doesn’t anything work?

 The answer is in the Bible. In Genesis, it is recorded that “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” [Genesis 6:5] Isaiah said, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way.” [Isaiah 53:6]  Paul wrote, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [Romans 3:23] In simple words, while we may create the appearance of peace, we cannot create real peace, because human beings are sinful. They would rather serve themselves than others. They cannot give up their bad attitudes, because they don’t want to. If we want world peace, human beings need to be different. Just as my mother could not make me want to share with my brother, the UN cannot make Palestinians want to share with Israelis. Under the most implacable force the resentments seethe as furiously as ever, waiting impatiently for a crack in the barrier to aggression.

 We all can pray for peace, and we all should pray for peace. There certainly won’t be any peace without God’s intervention. The peace we want, however, is not the façade that covers up violent hatred. What we really want is the end of hatred. We even make laws against hate speech and hate crimes, but the laws do not end hate. UN sanctions against aggressor nations do not end aggression. So far, human legal action has been completely impotent in bringing about peace. How can we have peace? Peace in families. Peace in communities. Peace in the world.

 There is an answer. In the same hour that one of Jesus’ closest friends was betraying him to enemies, Jesus spoke to the remaining eleven disciples. He warned them what was coming his way. Even as Jesus warned his friends of the hateful aggression in their future, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” [John 14:27] The peace Jesus gave was internal peace. This peace was a transforming experience that gave the disciples the ability to face aggressive power with a peaceful attitude. This is the kind of peace that we all really want.

 We all should pray for peace, but when we pray, we should not be hoping simply for better disarmament treaties or for dictators to comply with economic sanctions. Rather, when we pray for peace, we should pray for transformed human hearts. When we pray for peace, we are praying for one of the fruits of the indwelling Holy Spirit, a fruit that only matures when there is also the fruit of love, joy, patience, kindness, generosity and faithfulness. I pray fervently for peace, but I pray with the full knowledge that the cessation of hostilities is not real peace. I pray for the transformation of human hearts and the peace we all will know when time ends and “Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.” [Revelation 21:4]

 To some, this notion sounds like “pie in the sky by and by.” What do we do, you may ask, until then?

 One answer, a concession to reality, is to keep making laws that punish aggressive behavior. Continue to do everything possible in international relations to prevent aggressor nations from hurting other nations. The Bible tells us that one of God’s purposes for human government is protection of citizens from both internal and external aggression. Until every human heart is transformed by love, we must realistically expect that natural, sinful human nature will manifest itself in crime and war, and we must be prepared to stop it.

 However, the best answer is to do what Jesus told us what to do. Early in his ministry, he sent his disciples out to tell Israelites that the kingdom of heaven had come near. They were to tell everyone the good news that God loved them and that God had come down to bring the kingdom to them. They were practicing the work that would become their permanent calling, and the calling of everyone in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. As Jesus ascended to heaven, he commissioned his followers again in that ministry of love, saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:19-20] We work for world peace when we gospelize the people around us – that is, when we envelope them in our love and God’s love by telling them this good news. The good news of God’s love and grace through Christ is the power that transforms people and puts out the fires of aggression, greed, and hatred. Only God can bring about world peace, and it only happens when he dwells in the hearts of people everywhere. If we want world peace, we need to say to everyone we meet, “God loves you, and I love you.” That’s it.