First, I want to contrast peacefulness by mentioning what is perhaps the most un-peaceful place on earth right now. John Hinderaker wrote yesterday on Powerline Blog about the nightmare that is the Gaza Strip.
“Gaza is one of the most benighted places on Earth, likely the most benighted. It has no real educational system; its schools are devoted to propagating bigotry. It has virtually no economy; it is a society that lives on international welfare…It is the most backward theocracy on Earth. And on October 7, 2023, it launched the most horrific military/terrorist attack since World War II.”
It’s a hell on earth created by the wicked, angry, well-armed men of Hamas, who oppress the people out of their own power and hate.
I think Gaza is an example of what can happened when sin is fully unleashed. Hamas has created a picture of the anti-civilization, the opposite of what God intended for humanity.
In contrast, I’ve recently read in the Bible of a society at the other end of that spectrum–an example of the good side, when people act like they should, when people are following God’s law (according to the light they had in their day). And the result is peacefulness and civility and happiness.
It is in the first 2 and 1/2 chapters of the book of Luke. There we see the preparations for the coming of Christ, the birth of Christ, and what happens afterward.
God used people as part of fulfilling His epic plan. And the people God used were good and godly. They were faithful before God confronted them with their tasks in this mission. God knew He could use them.
We see Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. And Joseph and Mary (their roles are the most obvious). The shepherds, too. Then we see Simeon and Anna in the temple visiting the young Jesus. All of them, to use a military image, were “at their posts and doing their duty.”
There was a little wrinkle with Zechariah, though. The story makes me smile. When the angel appeared to Zechariah, he (a good and godly man) showed a little bit of unfaith. He asked the angel: “How can I be sure of this?” (Luke 1:18). He got rebuked for this stumble by being struck dumb until the child was born. This was not the rebuke of the wicked, but more like fatherly discipline. When his son was born, the first words out of Zechariah’s mouth were praise to God. Zechariah functioned from a baseline of godliness; even when he was disciplined he still praised God.
All the characters in the story are good and doing right, and even the one who trips up handles his correction well. The first 2 and 1/2 chapters of Luke is a little picture of heaven on earth. There is goodness and hospitality. There is civilization and peace.
But of course, we know that there is evil and danger are present. In the Luke story, the first we see of it is when Herod imprisons John the Baptist. We also know from the book of Matthew that another Herod, Herod the Great, tried to murder the Christ child when he was in Bethlehem. So, the darkness was there. But there was light shining too; and the light won. Christ successfully made it into the world and accomplished His mission.
Comment #1: God used good and godly people to do His work, people who were walking in the light that they had.
There’s a lesson here. If we want to be used by God for future tasks, we should be walking with God presently in whatever circumstances we are in.
Sometimes theology fails us here. It speaks so much of us all being sinners–not just in the past tense but in the present tense. The predominant theology today (dominant in books, the internet and radio) tells of how we are sinners, sinners, sinners, and how we always stumble and fall. I understand they are trying to avoid pride, but I ask, “What does that does that kind of talk make of the power of God’s grace?” It makes it seem like God’s grace is weak, like it cannot change us much. Of course, we all were sinners–there’s no denying that–but by God’s grace and our cooperation with that grace, we are lifted to a higher level of living than constant stumbling and falling. We can even be useful to God in His purposes. 1 John 1:9 speaks of God forgiving us but also purifying us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We see there the power of God not only to forgive our sins, but also to purify us from it. God’s grace forgives but also improves. We are equipped to serve, to do some good. Like the people in the story mentioned above.
Comment #2: Godly people, acting out their faith, can create havens of peace and civilization in a dark world. The picture of the early chapters of Luke is an environment of peace and civility. Despite the evil around them, they made a bubble of decency, peace and goodness.
It reminded me of the Old Testament book of Ruth, another bubble of goodness during a rough time, the time of the judges. At that time Israel should have been doing great, but they weren’t. They had entered the Promised Land; God had defeated her enemies. They had the tabernacle and the law and the priesthood. They had all the advantages they needed. But they fell badly short and the consequence were idolatry, selfishness, crime and insecurity. But in the Ruth story everyone is doing right. It reminds me of the story in Luke. For example, the landowner, Boaz, was a godly man. The workers in his fields are happy–he treated them right. He makes sure the poor get a chance to glean after the harvesters. He fulfills his covenant obligations to Ruth. People like him create a haven of civilization during a time of chaos.
Faithful people–people like Boaz, Zechariah, Elizabeth, the shepherds, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna–created havens of peace and goodness in this fallen world. Even if it’s just in your home. And we can do it too.
Once, I heard a radio Bible preacher (he was usually a very good radio Bible preacher) disdain the idea of creating a rose garden in this world. I didn’t agree with that. While it’s true our real home is in heaven and we are just travelers on earth in the meantime, it’s a great thing to see beacons of light and civility. It’s good for kids. It’s good for everyone (except criminals). It’s not heaven yet, but a foretaste of it.