Micah 4:1-5

“They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” Micah 4:3 (NIV)

On September 11, 2001, our world changed. Not only did our world change, but our perceptions of our world changed as well. Gone was the illusion of safety and peace we knew as children. This illusion was replaced by the reality of the hatred and violence that pervades our world today. For the past decade, the United States has waged war against terrorism throughout the Middle East, specifically in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our children have not known life without war. They have not experienced peace.

Yet, the prophet Micah paints a beautiful picture of peace in today’s scripture. In the last days, God will lead the nations to gather and will settle their disputes and peace will rule the earth. Weapons of war will be fashioned into farm tools because weapons will longer be needed. May we be the first to lay down our weapons and usher peace into our small corner of the world.

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” -Mother Theresa