The devil is reaping souls by convincing people that when they lose their souls for a ‘good cause’ it does not matter. The tendency is to focus on what the world will understand about the incident but the victim forgets that the life of a person goes on beyond the grave. Each person shall give an account of how they lived their lives while in the body (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10) and once a person is dead, judgment is set.
Many people believe that God will understand and reward those that fought for peace using their own methods which for some it meant death. The only way God would defend such people is when they fought for peace in God’s defined way in the Holy Bible. Any other method is outside of His mercy and unless they repent before they die, they are doomed for eternal damnation.
I wouldn’t want to quote people’s names that have died in the name of peacemaking and many such people left a legacy in this world. We know of students that have gone on hunger strike till death, many lost their lives to political strife for peace, soldiers and many other humanly planned ways of making a statement by paying for it with their lives.
The point I’m bringing here is sad because there are people that have been deceived by pastors and religious leaders to believe that when people have been sent by their nation to fight for peace they will be rewarded by eternal life. Most of these wars are driven by greed from rulers, deception and hunger for power. None of these are godly.
God and wars in Bible times
I know that in the Old Testament, God ordered His people numerous times to go to war with different nations (1 Samuel 15:3; Joshua 4:13). You will notice that for all of these instances God gave a command for war He also gave an instruction on how the war should be conducted. God should be given full control of any war and it should be done in His terms. He is the God of war (Exodus 15:3). Therefore, it is an error to believe that God is not for war but He wants it done in His own way.
It comes down to individual activities as each person will give a personal account before God. If you are a soldier who got instructions to go to war and you had no option but to do it, you must have reported that matter to God to have your soul saved. Can you believe it that God has His angels close by every moment ready to listen to our prayers. A soldier that died in war might have to answer the question as to why s/he did not pray or consult God in all his/her dealings.
History on world wars
Reflecting back in history, if Hitler was not defeated in World War II, would God have been able to stop him from killing millions of innocent people? Like many other wars that have taken place in the past, I can assure you that God could have provided His way out of the situation. Hard as it is to wait on God, it would have been His ways that could have been acceptable for the soldiers and many people that lost their lives fighting for peace and freedom.
When the Bible says that we must make every effort possible to live in peace with everyone in Hebrews 12:14, I don’t believe such efforts involve taking fire arms and going to war. Every person is important to God even the enemies of peace God wants to save their lives because He send Jesus to die for those too.
Individual life application
Today in life we also fight wars which when fought in our own terms are not acceptable to God. The good news is that at any stage of war God welcomes you to invite Him into your war. If you happen to die while waiting for His response, then blessed be His name. If you believe that you can fight your wars without God’s help, God will not force Himself into your situation. Think of the three Hebrew boys that the Bible teaches in the book of Daniel 3.
The same God that can fight in a minor personal situation is the same God that can intervene in a global dilemma of war. I beseech all people and nations to involve God in wars because it counts for this life and the life to come.
Don’t lose your life because you want to make a statement for any cause. It is securing your eternal life that counts more that any benefit you’d strive for in this world (Mark 8:36).
Be blessed.