A Total Absence of Violence

The Book of Genesis Day12 Ge 1:29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. More instructions for man and a non-violent diet for animals! We see here that God’s original diet for man, animals, and birds, was a peaceful vegetarian diet. But sin entered the world and man, animals, and birds added violently acquired meat to the mix. It is as the Holy Spirit noted in Ge 6:11, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” It wasn’t until after the flood that man was given permission to eat meat. It’s easy for us to imagine man living on vegetation,(health conscious people do it all the time,) but when’s the last time you saw a vegan lion? Well, in this perfect world of the sixth day of creation, that’s the way it was, and I imagine that it will one day be like that again as we read in Isa 11:6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. When will that Day be? Only the Father knows, but it will be the Day of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He will restore all things to the beauty of that sixth day of creation! It will be a world void of violence, (you can’t eat meat without it!) Just imagine such a world for a moment. Oh the unending joy and peace! We live in a world of ever increasing violence, but imagine living in a world with no violence, no stomach churning gore for eternity! It will happen one day when our Lord returns. Do you want to be a part of such a world? Then heed the words of Mr 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Perfect peace awaits those who surrender their lives to Jesus. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father (no one comes to heaven) except through Me. (Jn 14:6) Reflect: What’s your favorite food? What’s your favorite fruit or vegetable? What’s the most peaceful thing you have experienced? How do you feel when you witness violence of any kind? Who will experience perfect peace on Judgment Day? Pray: Father God, we long for the restoration of the “very good” world of the sixth day. Help us to finish the race and use us in any way to bring as many as possible with us. Amen