No Need for Self-Defense, Anymore

^"3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;

⁴ but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

⁵ For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever."

----(Micah 4:3-5, ESV)

One might read these hopeful words and assume they were from the New Testament, because of the forward look into the future; surely it must be foretelling of a time of peace!

Indeed, it is - but it is from the Old Testament prophet named Micah. The book starts out by telling us that it was written in the time of kings of Judah, during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, approximately 100 years or so before the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon. Yet even then, the people looked to a time where people on the earth, would fight no more.

Although the concept of 'swords into plowshares' presents this idea well, it was the next verse that got my attention...because it was nostalgic for me. It took me back to a simpler time. Perhaps it was easy for me, in that simpler time, before I even had an understanding of who Jesus Christ is - but I already had an understanding of who God was, and is, somewhere between the ages of 4 or 5 years old, before Daniel or Adam were even born.

You see, for whatever reason, God has blessed me with a very detailed memory of my childhood, especially the pleasant things. And I recall when I was young, probably like the child in the A.I. image generated for this post, and I knew that God loved me. I even knew Jesus was the Son of God, whatever that meant to me back in those days - and I would either sit under the shade of the trees in our back yard, or on top of the sliding board of my swingset (this was before my little brothers even came along), and I would sing and sing 'Jesus Loves Me,' over and over again. There were no worries. There were no swords or guns, or politics, or monsters. Just me and my Jesus... me and God, and my way of talking to Him back then was just to sing.

I read this passage in Micah today, and while it was wonderful to think of a time where I will no longer need to bother with knowing self-defense, and the importance of awareness, and the reality of danger, it was the peace of the moment of realization the people of God will have at an unknown preset time in the future. It hit me, because I realized, I had sensed that kind of peace before. And what was it that gave me such peace? Faith like a child...my actual faith as a child, instilled in me and taught by my God-fearing parents. I even remember my mom yelling out the back door to me on occasion, especially on pretty days in the summertime, when she wasn't at school teaching; "Son, whatcha doing?"

I'd just reply, "Singing."

And she'd just smile at me with that saintly woman's smile, and go back about her business back in the house while my dad was at work. But on those glorious sunny days, a child of God, not having a care in the world except all the goodness he knew from a Godly home, was perhaps one of those slices of Heaven I've written about before. That peace, that surpasses all understanding, existed in those innocent moments. And the prophet, Micah, was given a foretaste of such peace that will last for eternity.

You see, for a man who has changed dramatically from the happy-go-lucky guy who saw nothing but the good he wanted to, and the bad he didn't want to - to a man with a badge, a gun, a bit of hyperawareness, and a much deeper theological worldview, to read those words from Micah chapter 4 was like breathing the first full, clear breath after an asthma attack. It was like crying for joy for the first time, because an ephipany hit my vision of the future so clearly, as if I'd wiped all the water out of my eyes after beholding such a vision. Because, yes, while Micah is prophesying the future - his words took me back, way back, and tears really did fill my eyes. Because the realization hit me, that that innocent peace of singing about God in the sun, will be felt by all of us one day; all of us that believe in Jesus Christ.

I hope anyone that reads this can share in the hope for peace that these words brought me. Our world is certainly full of enough bad news every day, with communism and evil spreading its virus. But in the meantime, think on God; think on His peace. Think of a time coming when you won't have to know how to defend yourself against any sudden violent attacks from any would-be predator, ready to strongarm you into giving up your money or your life. Think of a time where coveting and thieving are ideas of the past, lost for eternity. Think of a time where things like guns and swords, bombs and spears, fighter jets and battleships and tanks; all wars and machines of war, gone forever. Then you can sit under your preset vine or fig tree, bask in God's glory, with no need for self-defense, or awareness, or caution, anymore.

Oh what a glorious and stress-free day that will be.

In Christ,

JEF