{"id":16517,"date":"2018-03-09T09:28:57","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T14:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16517"},"modified":"2018-03-09T09:48:22","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T14:48:22","slug":"living-peacefully-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16517","title":{"rendered":"Living Peacefully on Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"591\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OwXhHGXejs4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Living Peacefully on Earth<\/strong><br \/>\nFriday, March 9, 2018<\/p>\n<p>To live nonviolently\u2014both toward humans and nature\u2014requires that we recognize God\u2019s image in each living thing. We cannot be violent toward someone or something when we see the divine in them. My friend and nonviolent activist John Dear recently published a new book, They Will Inherit the Earth, from which I\u2019d like to share today.<br \/>\nOver the decades, I have witnessed the destruction we humans have done to Mother Earth and her creatures. I\u2019ve read about catastrophic climate change and experienced the changes\u2014the droughts, the strange weather, the extreme fires and tornadoes and rainfall. . . . I grieve for Mother Earth and the creatures who die because of our systemic greed, violence, and destructive habits. But I never made or felt the connection between my vision of nonviolence and the ongoing destruction of Mother Earth. Until now. . . .<br \/>\n\u201cBlessed are the meek,\u201d Jesus says in the Beatitudes. Thomas Merton wrote that \u201cmeekness\u201d is the biblical word for nonviolence. \u201cBlessed are the nonviolent,\u201d Jesus is saying. . . . \u201cThey will inherit the earth.\u201d . . . A life of nonviolence leads to oneness with creation and her creatures.<br \/>\nA life of violence, of course, leads to an abrupt discord with creation. In a time of permanent warfare, nuclear weapons, and catastrophic climate change, the message couldn\u2019t be clearer. The God of peace, the nonviolent Jesus, and his Holy Spirit call us to practice nonviolence. In that way, we\u2019ll renounce and stop our environmental destruction, tend our Garden of Eden together, and restore creation to its rightful peace. In the process, we will discover peace with one another and all the creatures. . . .<br \/>\nThis is the journey we are all called to live, to make the connection between active nonviolence and oneness with creation, so that we all might dwell peacefully in this paradise. . . . I [see] not just the vision of peace and nonviolence, but the vision of a new creation, where we all live as one in peace with one another, Mother Earth and her glorious creatures. It\u2019s that vision of peace, nonviolence, and the new creation, the vision of the promised land before us, the practice of proactive nonviolence, that offers a way out of environmental destruction, as well as permanent war, corporate greed, systemic racism, and extreme poverty.<br \/>\nAll we have to do is open our eyes to the reality of creation before us, to be present to it, to take it in and honor it, and welcome its gift of peace\u2014and do so within the boundaries of nonviolence. In that present moment of peace, a new creation is offered to us once again.<\/p>\n<p>Gateway to Presence:<br \/>\nIf you want to go deeper with today\u2019s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.<\/p>\n<p>================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?<\/strong><br \/>\nBy Oswald Chambers<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Do you also want to go away? \u2014John 6:67<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nWhat a penetrating question! Our Lord\u2019s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, \u201cDo you also want to go away?\u201d We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.<br \/>\n\u201cFrom that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more\u201d (John 6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.<br \/>\nPeter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.<br \/>\nIn John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: \u201cDo you also want to go away?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Living Peacefully on Earth Friday, March 9, 2018 To live nonviolently\u2014both toward humans and nature\u2014requires that we recognize God\u2019s image in each living thing. We cannot be violent toward someone or something when we see the divine in them. My friend and nonviolent activist John Dear recently published a new book, They Will Inherit the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16517"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16520,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16517\/revisions\/16520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}