Editor,
Yesterday while I was driving, I heard a sermon on the radio delivered by a man who claimed to be "following in the footsteps of Jesus." I heard the word "war" at least 10 times during that sermon. The term "army of God with Jesus as the commander in chief" was also used. The term "soldiers for Christ" was used, too.
It was said several times, "Those of us who are following the teachings of Jesus are in a war with those who are not; and we had better take this conflict seriously, or we will be doomed to eternal damnation."
These sound like words that will have the effect of escalating the divisions that already exist between us. I have a question for all who are reading this: Do you believe in your heart that Jesus can support the efforts of people who desire to see more conflict and war between the people living on this planet?
My dream is that people will read the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Bible and lead their lives according to what Jesus said, not according to those who claim to be speaking for him. These people talk of a world being divided into them and us and the need to be at war with them. The words coming out of the mouths of these people, knowingly or unknowingly, are destined to increase the conflicts and wars existing in the world.
My dream is that people will lead their lives according to what Jesus said: "Love each other." When I read the words Jesus was recorded to have said, I found no words advocating conflict or war, only words advocating love for all, especially love for those who are incapable of loving us.
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I dream that people everywhere on the planet will begin to take the words of Jesus seriously and begin living their lives according to those words.
Robert Gardiner
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