When I was about 7 years of age, my parents took me on a trip to Washington DC. It was a wonderful week, that’s my memory. I couldn’t remember my parents ever having a holiday like this before. We visited lots of local historical sites, had good meals, and we were together – all three of us! Dad traveled a lot so this was great.

One of my strongest memories centers on Sunday morning and a brief conversation they had on whether to go to the black corps (near us) or the white corps (further out).

Now I don’t want to suggest anything there – they wanted to go to the black corps but expressed safety concerns. It was after all the 1960’s.

I’ve been thinking about that a great deal in light of what is going on, mostly in the USA. Racial divide, anger, history and poor national leadership are fueling a revisit to those days. Ravi Zacharias recently said, “we are building a culture of hatred”.

I watched a video where a group of police officers moving down a street with shields knocked an elderly man with a cane to the road, and then as if they had second thoughts, went and helped him up. Is there a sense of irrational use of violence? Is there so much fear in the air that any action seems legitimate? I wonder.

Even the White House was under siege last night – and the lights were turned off and the President took to his bunker. In of it’s self, this is a significant sign of the times.

Here’s what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans (12:8) “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” Romans is a theological treatise but it has some very practical advice to the Christians who lived in a pagan center (Canada would be considered pagan). His voice should be heeded today and I am rethinking my own behaviour and attitudes in the midst of all this.

If Christ is the Prince of Peace, then we the citizen’s of His Kingdom must surely follow his way.