An End to the Fighting

The fighting had been bitter and violent, and no resolution seemed possible. Then, suddenly, on this day in 1918, World War I, the “war to end all wars,” came to an end at 11 a.m., after 1,563 days of war.

The transformation along the Western Front was instantaneous. An American soldier described how “one minute we were killing people, and then the world was at peace…It seemed like five minutes of silence, and then one of us said, ‘Why don’t we go home.’”

An officer recalled climbing out of the trenches that strung along the front. Moments earlier, he would have been shot. But now he walked into the open, unprotected. German soldiers weren’t shooting but danced a “jig of joy.” Amazed, the officer said, “We stood in a dazed silence unable to believe that at last the fighting was over.”

But not all of the soldiers were celebrating. Miles to the north, battles continued without a break. Isolated by long delays, men continued to fight and die for many months.

In a spiritual parallel, the Bible tells us that Jesus brought peace. We no longer need to be at war with God, for Jesus has “made peace through the blood of His cross.” Before Jesus’ work on the Cross, we were separated from God, but He now has given us harmony with Him (Colossians 1:20-22).

Jesus has become our peace, breaking down every wall. We are no longer separated but reconciled “in one body to God through the cross.”

However, many people don’t know that the war is over. They continue to struggle, fight, and die, still at war with God.

Today, make sure that you have peace with God through Jesus. Then be His instrument in bringing peace to troubled Souls.