John 18:10-11 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, pulled it out and struck the high priest’s slave, cutting his ear off. But Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath! Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given Me?”
When I was young, I believed that Peter was a coward for denying Jesus. Only later, as I truly considered the moment of Jesus’ arrest in the garden, did I understand that it was much more complex. Peter was willing to stand for the cause he believed in. In the height of passion, he was indeed willing to die fighting. The response from Jesus, however, cooled him down and also confused him. It placed a mystery before Peter that he could not, in those next painful days, unravel. This mystery is what Jesus declared to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Some people have more courage. Some are more easily passionate about a cause. Yet every Christian must wrestle with this mystery that stopped Peter in his tracks. We are to be light in this world as citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world. How should I respond to all of the issues swirling around in the world today? One thing is clear: I cannot respond in my own wisdom and understanding. Whatever natural reaction any of us might have – to fight, to scream, to run, to be silent – when it comes from our nature, it is the wrong response.
In the current kingdom of “woke,” many companies have created policies for their employees to follow. The kingdom of God isn’t like that. Though the Ten Commandments were helpful in creating safe borders for darkened minds, the cornerstones of God’s law (love God and love others as you love yourself) are less rigid. The true guidance of every Christian, according to Jesus, comes from the Holy Spirit. Even if I understand Christian values and truth, how I apply those truths in each situation and with each person must come from His leading.
In my own life, if I don’t lay down my will and seek His, if I don’t pick up my cross and live through Him, if I don’t cry out to know Jesus in a deeper way today – then my responses are echoes of Peter pulling out his sword. I may recognize darkness and desire to stand against it, but I will more likely cut off the ear of someone standing close by.
My natural responses do not accomplish the work of His kingdom. We need His love, infused into our lives by the Holy Spirit. This isn’t foremost a political or cultural fight; it is a spiritual one. We must lay down Peter’s sword and learn how to use the spiritual weapons of Christ.