It’s a long way from Phoenix to Providence and the man next to me decided he had to talk. We talked but a few minutes when we discovered we had a mutual friend. One of his closest colleagues had gone to college with me. He thought it was pretty amazing. I am not a statistician but I would guess the chances are pretty good that almost every time you get on an airplane there is someone on that plane who knows someone you know. A few years ago on a flight across the country I discovered the woman sitting beside me was my college roommate’s mother.
Humans are one very large family. And unfortunately we fight like a family.
Anyone who has raised children knows how siblings can go after each other. This seems very pronounced while traveling with the children in the back seat of the car. I think the advent of seatbelts has helped. Keeping them confined to one place surely has had to reduce all out battles.
There are so many things that motivate us to fight. History seems to indicate that warring is as natural as breathing. Jesus’ counsel to us to turn the other cheek is a lesson parents wish their children would learn when they are growing up together. Yet it is a hard lesson for adults to practice. It is easy to rattle swords and courageous to seek peace. No wonder Jesus said, “Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called His sons.”
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 20, 2007
Spring of Life, 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453.