As we get ready for the end of 2015 and head into 2016, PEACE is going to be a major theme. The reason is that the Colombian government and the FARC Rebel army have been in peace talks for more than three years and are closer and closer to signing a peace agreement that has the possibility of a total and complete impact on Colombian society, culture, government, and lifestyle. These two entities have been in conflict for so long that the conflict has infiltrated and influenced all of Colombian life. PEACE, however it is defined and agreed upon and lived out, etc. will be at the forefront of life. No one knows all what PEACE will all mean since the vast majority of Colombians have lived in the midst of this conflict their whole lives. Depending on how you interpret Colombian history, this conflict has been going on for at least 50-80 years. We don’t know how it will all be lived out, and our purpose here is only to communicate with you that PEACE will be a major theme, a topic of discussion, a topic of study, an ongoing dialog, and a request for prayer.
Since the Church is an institution and a part of society and culture it has played a role in the conflict and will play a role in how PEACE is lived out. In our work and ministry as missionaries walking alongside of the Covenant Church and Ministries and people in Colombia, PEACE will continue to be a part of everything that we do. We believe that an opportunity is in front of us to truly understand and live out PEACE as it is given to us in Jesus the Christ. And if the peace agreement actually gets signed, the challenge will involve all of life, everyday, with many believing that the world succeeded this time.
Yet, Jesus says, “I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn’t like the peace this world can give” (John 14:27). We believe these words that Jesus gives PEACE and “he himself is our PEACE, who has made the two one” (Ephesians 2:14). May there be a receiving and living out of Jesus’ PEACE in our relationships with one another in society, culture and lifestyle.
