“An Unlikely Family…”
“The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4.
* I grew up during the Vietnam Conflict Era. As a child I often heard on the radio how the war was escalading. I did not understand exactly what was happening, but I was concerned that the war would eventually reach the south of Brazil (where we lived & my dad was a pastor). Sometimes late at night we would listen to reports about the war… they scared me. Obviously the war never directly affected us down in the Southern Hemisphere, but there are other conflicts that do affect us daily wherever we are… anywhere.
* This morning I ran across a text in Isaiah: “…Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.”
* Yeah, I know it is a prophecy and it is not quite our reality here and now, but I dream about a world as described by Isaiah… no more war; no more conflict; people working together in peace; hearts and lives transformed by Christ; people no longer fighting selfishly for their “rights”… (Almost sounds like John Lennon’s song “Imagine”, but it is NOT THE SAME!) Oh, and I am not talking only about the relationship between nations. I am addressing the issue of overcoming the evil that resides in all of us and needs to be extricated from the mind and hearts of people. If that happens, then we will all stop seeking to impose what we think – you know… those ideas that are not in harmony with what God says. I am talking about an effort, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to get along with family members, co-workers, brothers and sisters in the church… Is that unrealistic? With God’s wisdom and power let’s make the effort!
* Let me tell you a story I found the other day. High up in a tree in British Columbia's Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, six birds are sharing a nest: specifically, two bald eagles, their three eaglets, and a baby red-tailed hawk.
* Birds of different species sharing the same nest may sound rather strange, but for those bird aficionados out there, this will sound especially strange because most of the time, bald eagles and red-tailed hawks are enemies, "known to fight each other to death.” Bird experts have been theorizing about how this "unexpected interspecies family" came to be… Fears over the birds' futures, however, are starting to stir—the Hancock Wildlife Foundation's David Hancock pointed out that "this little red-tailed chick is sharing the nest with three fast-growing, usually aggressive siblings … Sibling rivalry and fratricide is not uncommon in eagles." For now, however, Sanctuary caretaker Kerry Finley has described the eagles as attentive caregivers: "It's quite something to see the way the red-tailed hawk is treated. The parents are quite attentive."
* The issue is: The parent Eagles are treating the baby red-tailed hawk well, but will the eagle chicks do the same, and continue to do so during their life-time, or will their “killer instinct” eventually kick in and…
* Our world is broken, fraught with divisions and enemy lines all over the spectrum of life, from the animal kingdom to our churches. But for now, in their own small way, these birds are modeling the kind of upside-down world that we long for, a day in which God "will settle disputes for many peoples… and nations (people) will no longer fight…" Isaiah 2:4.
* If you have unresolved conflicts in your life think about this… seriously!
Your pastor, Rev. Don Sonntag
“The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4.
* I grew up during the Vietnam Conflict Era. As a child I often heard on the radio how the war was escalading. I did not understand exactly what was happening, but I was concerned that the war would eventually reach the south of Brazil (where we lived & my dad was a pastor). Sometimes late at night we would listen to reports about the war… they scared me. Obviously the war never directly affected us down in the Southern Hemisphere, but there are other conflicts that do affect us daily wherever we are… anywhere.
* This morning I ran across a text in Isaiah: “…Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.”
* Yeah, I know it is a prophecy and it is not quite our reality here and now, but I dream about a world as described by Isaiah… no more war; no more conflict; people working together in peace; hearts and lives transformed by Christ; people no longer fighting selfishly for their “rights”… (Almost sounds like John Lennon’s song “Imagine”, but it is NOT THE SAME!) Oh, and I am not talking only about the relationship between nations. I am addressing the issue of overcoming the evil that resides in all of us and needs to be extricated from the mind and hearts of people. If that happens, then we will all stop seeking to impose what we think – you know… those ideas that are not in harmony with what God says. I am talking about an effort, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to get along with family members, co-workers, brothers and sisters in the church… Is that unrealistic? With God’s wisdom and power let’s make the effort!
* Let me tell you a story I found the other day. High up in a tree in British Columbia's Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, six birds are sharing a nest: specifically, two bald eagles, their three eaglets, and a baby red-tailed hawk.
* Birds of different species sharing the same nest may sound rather strange, but for those bird aficionados out there, this will sound especially strange because most of the time, bald eagles and red-tailed hawks are enemies, "known to fight each other to death.” Bird experts have been theorizing about how this "unexpected interspecies family" came to be… Fears over the birds' futures, however, are starting to stir—the Hancock Wildlife Foundation's David Hancock pointed out that "this little red-tailed chick is sharing the nest with three fast-growing, usually aggressive siblings … Sibling rivalry and fratricide is not uncommon in eagles." For now, however, Sanctuary caretaker Kerry Finley has described the eagles as attentive caregivers: "It's quite something to see the way the red-tailed hawk is treated. The parents are quite attentive."
* The issue is: The parent Eagles are treating the baby red-tailed hawk well, but will the eagle chicks do the same, and continue to do so during their life-time, or will their “killer instinct” eventually kick in and…
* Our world is broken, fraught with divisions and enemy lines all over the spectrum of life, from the animal kingdom to our churches. But for now, in their own small way, these birds are modeling the kind of upside-down world that we long for, a day in which God "will settle disputes for many peoples… and nations (people) will no longer fight…" Isaiah 2:4.
* If you have unresolved conflicts in your life think about this… seriously!
Your pastor, Rev. Don Sonntag