Isaiah, Jesus, and Paul speak about peace on this earth, not as
something unattainable and rooted in wishful thinking, but as a
reality and a choice that everyone can achieve; that is, if they want
to.
In Isaiah 11:6-9 of the Hebrew Bible, the prophet paints this picture
of the peaceable kingdom:
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the kid,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze;
Their young will lie down together;
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.
~ New American Standard Bible
In Matthew 5:9 of the New Testament, Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount
tells His listeners –
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons
[children] of God."
~ New American Standard Bible
The Apostle Paul in writing to the Romans mentions “the children of
God” and describes how “the whole creation” suffers while waiting for
the “revealing of the sons [children] of God.” (Romans 8:18-23)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the
revealing of the sons [children] of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will,
but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery
to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains
of childbirth together until now.
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first
fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons [children], the redemption of
our body.
~ New American Standard Bible
Do you see the common thread in these three passages? Do you also see
how (according to Paul) all the creatures who share this earth groan and
suffer, through no fault of their own, while waiting for the “children
of God” to step forward – which they should have done with the coming of
Jesus Christ?
Reading these passages also makes it very clear that heaven is
populated with nonhuman creatures, as well as humans. People who think
otherwise are sadly mistaken. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that any
of God’s creatures are excluded.
Society and particularly the Church have failed to carry out God’s
intent to bring peace to this earth for all humans and all other animals
and the environment that we share. Don’t you think it’s time for all of
us to stop making excuses and start being the peacemakers we are called
to be?
