Article December 23, 1996 Issue

Spiritual history and the Middle East

Beulah M. Roegge

The Middle East, rich in religious history, today demands a recognition of spiritual history as a basis for lasting peace. This is not to discount the many lessons given to mankind throughout the ages by religious leaders but rather to purify these lessons of material interpretations, which would distort or even totally eclipse them. It is essential today that prayers for the Middle East exalt Abraham's message that there is but one God.

The fullness of the revelation includes the fact that this one God is the creator and Parent of all. It evaluates man, collectively and individually, as the child of God. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). These words of Christ Jesus indicate the relationship between God's children and peacemaking. As one recognizes his or her own spiritual status, one naturally contributes to peace. There is urgency today to realize prayerfully that our brothers and sisters in the Middle East are indeed the blessed children of the one God and that they and their leaders are safe.

Readers of the Holy Bible find great inspiration in the sixth chapter of Second Kings if, in this case, the spiritual message has not been clouded by reading into it today's political situation. Elisha, a prophet of God, was protected when threatened with capture. His plan for peace, when carried out, provided protection and care for the enemy as well as for his own people.

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