Children in a World of Peace

A very special person, Rev. Marvin Willard, once gave me a framed picture inscribed with these words: "If everyone prayed the same prayer . . . God would grant it."  This text is surrounded by colorful drawings depicting loving, joyful families from all corners of the earth. The picture entitled, "Children in a World of Peace," has hung in my office for about twenty-five years. I've passed by it hundreds--maybe thousands--of times. Occasionally, I would stop and read the inscription, but I never really studied the drawings until today. Two weeks ago, on the day of my retirement, I placed it in a box--along with all the other office supplies I'll likely never use again--brought it home, and put it in a closet, out-of-sight, out-of-mind . . . or so I thought. But since reading last week's headlines, the picture has called to me again and again until finally, I had to dig through that box, pull it out and study it.

Just imagine what would happen if every person on earth stopped at the very same moment and prayed for peace. Do you think God would even consider not granting it? What if the entire human race decided to set aside prejudice that says, in essence, "I'm more worthwhile than you" or "I'm right; you're wrong?" What if we joined hands across the world--black hands, white hands, brown hands, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindi, Buddhists, regardless of age, gender or sexual preference? What if, instead of defending our stance as the only way, we simply respected each other's differences and decided to replace hate (or misunderstanding) with simple love and acceptance?

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is the "way, the truth and the life." But even when Jesus walked the earth, He took people as He found them and loved them as they were. He taught His followers that God, the Father, is a God of love. He gave them a new commission: "You shall love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and your neighbor as yourself."

What if we humans stopped playing judge and jury of our fellow humans and, instead, accepted our own fallibility. What if, instead of questioning the wisdom and condemning the practices of others, we humbled ourselves and looked deeply and honestly into our own hearts and minds, seeking to change only ourselves? I'm convinced God would answer our collective prayer. I think God (Allah, Jahweh, Abba, Jehovah, or whatever you call the Divine) would grant it. Perhaps then our children (and grandchildren) could finally live in a world of peace.