Images of the Price of Peace

Several African countries are suffering from the effects of tyranny and oppression.  Upheaval and mayhem have filled the streets within these countries as political leaders fight to hold on to governmental power.  With unrest from Gadhafi in Libya and rebuilding in Egypt from years under the rule of Mubarak, the civil war in the coco producing Ivory Coast, adds to the list of political chaos in Africa.

After the lives of hundreds have been lost, the self-declared leader Laurent Gbagbo was captured Monday morning (April 11, 2011) by opposing forces stormed his headquarters.  Civil war in the Ivory Coast began when the people elected Alassane Ouattara, but Gbagbo refused to relinquish power.  Ouattara is recognized internationally as being the elected leader of the Ivory Coast. 

It is a sad day when political leaders will hide behind their own people to save what power they do have.  Imagine the lives that have been lost, torn, and destroyed because of political war.  Citizens of the Ivory Coast are in hope that the capture of Gbagbo will end the civil war that has taken lives of many innocent people.

Any type of war leaves people torn and destroyed.  Though not in the same capacity of those in Africa, battles within our own churches leave people just as hopeless and cynical while desperately looking for peace.  Take the Greater New Zion Baptist Church in Henderson, North Carolina as an example.  Their January 31^st brawl depicts what churches throughout the country are going through when battles rage out of control.  Leaders, great and small, have to remember what it means to be responsible. 

For Christians, our example is Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 9:6 speaks of a great leader that will be called the Prince of Peace.  The main tradition in Christianity regards this passage to be speaking of Jesus Christ.  Other interpretations suggest that Isaiah was speaking of someone different from Jesus, but because of the leadership of Jesus, Christians can’t help but to see Jesus in these words.   

Christ worked to bring peace and reconcile people that were at odds with each other and with God.  It is my hope that as Christians, we always remember our example of peace in a world full of war and anarchy.  It is also my hope that as Christian leaders, we are not afraid of having power, using power, and losing power so that we may accurately resemble an image of the Prince of Peace.