by W. Chaz Glass

 

Seeking guidance to comprehend the turmoil unfolding across college campuses and the spiritual dimensions of these and other conflicts, I want to share insights revealed through the Spirit, viewed through the lens of Hebrews chapters 3 and 4.

 

The world is in a state of unrest, boiling with tension lit by violence, poverty, greed, lust, and power. There is gang violence in Haiti, war in Israel, war in Sudan, war in Ukraine, crime in Ecuador, war in politics, shootings over ringing the wrong doorbell, shootings in schools, shootings in churches, and various international conflicts. These highlight the heart of the human condition – restlessness. The land is dry from the heat of chaos and thirsting for peace, and many quench it in the wrong places by the wrong means.

 

In Egypt, God’s people were living the life of a slave. This is a restless and stressful existence and not their purpose. God had a different life planned and delivered them with the intent of planting them in the promised land where He would be their covering, and therefore their peace. They would die to being a slave and live a life of prosperity. Sadly, they turned back in their hearts and longed for the false comforts of their former slavery (Numbers 14:4). That generation was left in the wilderness and did not enter the rest of God, the new life He had planned for them. Paul was encouraging those in Jerusalem to stay on course and not turn back to the law; he referenced the generation that rejected the promised land and failed to enter into His rest. When the world rejects Christ and sees the gospel as foolishness, they remain in a spiritually turbulent state that we see manifesting globally, not entering into the rest of being in fellowship with Him. Humanity today often turns to their own ways individually and collectively for solutions, often methods that enslave and destroy, seeking solace in materialism, hedonism, and the pursuit of power. Yet, the true rest that Christ offers is often overlooked. Man wants peace as he defines it, so let me remind you that the heart is deceitful above all things. Therefore, the peace outside of Christ that comes from having His mind and oneness with the Father is fleeting and unstable.

 

James wrote, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:1-2). Outside of Christ, our attempts to solve the problems that plague us often end up exacerbating them, becoming the very thing we sought to overcome:

 

– Plagued by violence, we turn to it to dissolve it.

– Plagued by poverty, we become greedy and leave the next generation in our first state.

– Plagued by injustice, we turn to lawlessness to bring justice.

– Plagued by fear, we project fear onto those we are afraid of.

 

The kingdom of darkness is a restless kingdom, at war for the sake of it; at war because that is the natural order of a dominion without God. I see these vicious cycles playing out in different contexts, perpetuating the darkness and unrest in the world. The invitation to enter God’s rest, to take upon ourselves His easy yoke has gone out into the world, an invitation to His kingdom. In the enemy’s kingdom, it is clear that the peace that covers is missing; the peace that transcends understanding is what those tightly coiled are missing (Philippians 4:7), is a peace that must first be cultivated in our own hearts through faith. We must enter into it by faith, and He will fight the battle we are desperately trying to win. We will see His righteousness go forth and the nations will see His glory. The true solution, the true peace, can only be found in Christ. He is the One who offers rest for the weary and burdened soul (Matthew 11:28-30). He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who breaks down the walls of hostility and reconciles us to God and to one another (Ephesians 2:14-16).

 

The gospel calls us to break the cycles of sin and death by carrying our cross, challenging us to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), to forgive as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32). His rest does not mean we will have natural peace, for we will suffer persecution as He did, but we will have spiritual peace with our focus on things above.

This is not a call to passivity or complacency in the face of injustice and suffering. Rather, it’s a call to active resistance against the powers of darkness, but resistance that is rooted in the love and the methods of Christ. It’s a call to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), to pursue justice through righteousness (Amos 5:24), and to overcome fear with perfect love (1 John 4:18).

 

Ultimately, it’s a call to align ourselves with a different kingdom, the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed and embodied. It’s a kingdom that operates by different rules, different values, and a different power – the power of self-giving love, the power of the Spirit, the power of the resurrection. This is the life now offered to those who have been set free by truth. This is the voice we must not harden our hearts to. It calls to us; calls for us to come out and mix with faith what has been proclaimed to the ends of the earth and enter into His rest.

 

As we heed this call and allow the voice of peace, love, and forgiveness to soften our hearts and transform our minds, we become agents of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) in a world torn apart by conflict. We become light in the darkness, salt in the decay, living signs of the coming kingdom that will one day make all things new. When Christ is embraced, we enter into His rest and are empowered to be His hands that bring it.