Peace on Earth!

Wendy and I love Dovedale, and have been walking the dales there all our married life. It’s rather different from our home county of Norfolk, where there are attractive riverside walks through relatively flat meadowland. Dovedale, which straddles the river Dove, lies mainly in Derbyshire, but also in Staffordshire, and comprises rounded hills.

We stay at one of two hotels. The Izaak Walton is within spitting distance of the iconic Stepping Stones, whereas Biggin Hall, an old Manor House, is Wendy’s favourite of all hotels. So we usually stay in Biggin Hall! 

We had finished dinner one evening, and were having a glass of red wine in the library before retiring. Across the room from us, three couples sat around a small tables, and the conversation was animated. Well, quite loud really, as they discussed the rights and wrongs of the Middle East conflict, and how they would sort it out. They eventually stood up, pushed their chairs back, and sauntered towards the door. One of them looked in my direction. “Expect you could hear all that. What we want is peace. Peace in the world. Don’t you agree?” 

I must confess that I’m not often quick to spot opportunities to witness concerning my faith, but on this occasion I heard myself say, “I agree. I want peace in this world, but people love to fight, and there will not be peace in this world until Jesus returns.” Silence! Mr. Put-the-world-right was thinking. Then he looked a little uneasy, and said, “Well, he’d better come back soon then,” and he exited, stage left.

Maybe I was less than tactful, but what I said is true. We were spending the week walking through beautiful valleys, beside happily gurgling rivers, often under a blue sky. But, despite the apparent serenity, this world is in deep trouble. Global warming, terrorist threats, the possibility of nuclear confrontation, Middle East conflicts, Russian invasions, crime, divorce, drug addiction… locally, nationally and globally, this world is in very deep trouble. But it was not always so, and I in the Bible (which I seriously believe to be God’s inspired word to us, and therefore true), we read of a perfect creation, marred and spoilt by man’s sin (selfishness, rebelliousness, stubbornness – the Bible calls it sin, and there’s no real synonym for it), and which will one day be perfect again. But, as I told the man in the library, it will not be until Jesus physically returns to this earth. 

I am a dentist (retired) by profession, and for 20 years a bookseller (retired). I continue to be an author, with 8 published books, one of which has been translated into Farsi and published in Iran. I love humour, and have innumerable amusing stories from my days as a dentist. I enthuse over the beauty of this amazing world, where we can ramble and enjoy the wonders of creation. But I am also a Christian, and write concerning my faith in a God who is real and who has changed my life and my destiny. I look forward to the day when all conflicts cease, and there is truly ‘peace on earth’.