Matt 5:9 (NIV)
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called sons of God."
She was only ten when she wrote a letter to the newly
appointed Soviet President Yuri Andropov in December 1982, asking in no
uncertain terms if he was going to lead a nuclear war against the United States
of America. News on the television in those in days was scary (It still hasn't
changed!), and there was lots of talk of a possible nuclear war between these
two super powers. With this in mind, from Manchester, Maine, courageously
undertook the task of directly contacting the president of the U.S.S.R. And
President Andropov replied to her letter, inviting Samantha and her parents to
visit his country the next summer.
Soon after this, the Soviet Union opened talks with the
U.S. This led the end of the 20th century Cold War. Many believe that this all
stemmed from the letter of that ten-year old child.
Samantha continued to promote world peace until her
untimely death at the age of 13, when she and her father were killed in a plane
crash near Auburn, Maine.
What are we doing to promote peace around us? To be a
peacemaker, we have to have love, true love for all mankind. Any prejudice,
hatred, bias and unforgiveness have to be set aside in order to make peace
possible. Peacemakers are there to protect, trust, persevere and hope. Without
hope there would be no peace. But then without love, peace wouldn't be possible
either!
"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres." (1 Cor 13:6-7 NIV)
Interestingly that among the signs of times in Matthew
24, "love growing cold" and "wars and rumours of wars" seem
to go hand in hand.
"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see
to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still
to come." (Matt 24:6 NIV)
"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold…" (Matt 24:12 NIV)
Maybe we can learn something from this ten-year-old who
decided peace was more important than our own interests. We can start this kind
of peace in our own neighborhood. We can start with our own families.
Remember Joe? Yeah, he is anti-social and his jokes are
disgusting. It is such an utter shame that he abandoned his family!
But maybe, just maybe if we take the time and effort to
forgive him and shower him with love, just maybe, he would come around. You
might even be surprised by his many hidden qualities! Maybe he took a wrong
turn somewhere in life, but he too, is a child of God. Our accusations won't
help him to find the way. Only peace and love will do that.
And what about Lucy, Henrietta and Philip? They too are
yearning for acceptance. Are we willing to foster peace in these relationships?
Are we courageous enough to love as deeply as Jesus did? Or are we letting
events around us turn our love cold?
Remember Samantha Reed Smith. We can learn a lot from
children! As Matthew penned in his Gospel "I tell you the truth, unless
you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven." (Matt 18:3 NIV)
Dear Lord, help us be the one to forgive today. Show us
who we can reach out to and share Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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