On Non-resistance.



Christian Greetings Beloved, 
 In the passage from the Gospel of John 18:10-11, we witness a scene of high tension and human impulse: Peter, overcome with zeal, draws his sword and strikes. Yet Jesus, calm and resolute, responds not with violence but with a gentle rebuke, reminding Peter—and us—that His way is different. Consider, for a moment, what Peter must have felt. He had walked with Christ, witnessed His miracles, and heard His teachings. But when the hour of trial came, his instinct was not to follow the gentle path of his Master but to resort to force. How often do we, in our own moments of fear or uncertainty, reach for a “sword”—be it our words, our actions, or even our thoughts—striking out to protect or defend what we hold dear?

    Jesus’ response is key to understanding His mission and, indeed, the call of the non-resistance tradition. He tells Peter to sheath the sword, not because the danger has passed, but because violence cannot fulfill the divine purpose. "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" In this, Jesus reminds us that His kingdom is not established by force but through surrender to God’s will. To drink the cup is to embrace suffering, not with a resigned fatalism, but with the deep assurance that God's purposes are not thwarted by the darkness of the moment. C.S. Lewis often pointed to the idea that true strength is found not in the assertion of power, but in the willing submission to God’s will, even when it leads to the cross. The easy path is to resist with force, to impose our will upon the world, to smite as Peter did. But Christ shows us a harder way—a way that looks, to the world, like weakness, but is in fact the power of love that transforms. As people of faith, particularly those in non-resistance traditions, we are called to lay down our swords, not out of fear, but out of conviction that Christ’s victory is achieved not through might, but through the cross. It is a radical trust in the power of God’s love to overcome all evil, not by confronting it with violence, but by enduring it with grace.

    In our own lives, what are the “swords” we are tempted to draw? Is it the sharp edge of our tongues, cutting down others in anger? Is it the bitterness we harbor against those who have wronged us, eager to strike back? Christ’s invitation to us is the same as it was to Peter: Put up your sword. Embrace the cup. Let us trust that in our surrender, in our non-resistance, we are not retreating from the battle but engaging in the deepest, truest victory—one that comes through love, through sacrifice, and ultimately through resurrection. As Lewis would say, "The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation." In laying down our swords, we find true freedom.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Troublesome Creek

Image
  Christian Greetings Beloved,  Troublesome Creek flows for roughly 42 miles through eastern Kentucky, traversing Perry, Knott, and Breathitt counties. Its headwaters begin at the confluence of the Left and Right Forks near Hindman, Kentucky, and its mouth empties into the North Fork of the Kentucky River near Haddix, just outside Jackson. Long before modern industry and coal mining arrived, much of the area surrounding the creek was occupied almost entirely by mountain men and pioneers. Around 1892, William Wolman described the headwaters as pristine; he noted abundant aquatic life in its waters and lush banks lined with rhododendrons. I spent much of my childhood in that same creek, Troublesome. I’ve no doubt that, despite all the tires and other debris, it’s still just as beautiful today as when Wolman saw it in the late 1800s. Among the animals I caught were many types of salamanders, darters, freshwater mussels, snapping turtles (both soft-shell and common), gar, various ...
Read more

When Simeon held the infant Christ.

Image
  Christian Greetings Beloved,  Simeon stands in the temple courts, a man whose soul has been tuned to the voice of God. He has waited long, not in idle anticipation but in a holy readiness, his eyes ever watching for the moment when the promise would be fulfilled. And now, in the quiet of a morning like any other, he sees them—an unassuming couple, carrying a child. The world passes by this scene with indifference, but Simeon, moved by the Spirit, recognizes what others cannot. He sees the answer to every longing, the fulfillment of the covenant, cradled in a pair of human arms. What stirs me most about this moment is not merely Simeon's patience but his spiritual sensitivity. The old man had spent his years waiting, but not as one who waits passively. He was alive to God, fully engaged in the divine promise, and his heart was set on what others had long forgotten or failed to see. Simeon’s faith was not in the temple rituals themselves, nor in the visible structures of relig...
Read more
Image
Christian Greetings Beloved, The Cloud of Unknowing is a profound 14th-century mystical text that guides the reader into a relationship with God that transcends the intellect. The anonymous author suggests that in order to draw close to God, one must move beyond the grasp of the mind. This cloud, which both conceals and reveals, invites the soul into a kind of "unknowing" that feels paradoxical at first but is transformative. For the author, true knowledge of God isn’t found in theological certainties or intellectual clarity but in a place where our hearts are laid bare before Him, open and willing to be transformed. This journey into the "cloud" reflects the Christian doctrine of theosis, or divinization, which is the process of becoming more like God in holiness, love, and character. Theosis is the calling to participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), not by understanding God fully but by entering into a relationship of deep intimacy with Him. Through the mys...
Read more