Was invited by MMU Chinese CF to conduct a talk on “Peace”. I thought of a film, “The Imam and The Pastor” immediately and I thought it would be good to screen it to the Christians and start the discussion from there.
“The Imam and The Pastor” is a document depicting Imam Ashafa and Pastor James, 2 religious leaders from different religion, their effort to foster peace in their nation, Nigeria. This powerful documentary showed us the power of love, forgiveness and acceptance. I was very touched by this documentary the first time I saw it. If you are interested to watch the documentary, feel free to ask from me 
Movie Flyer for ” The Imam & The Pastor“
Flyer
Then I shared with the students on the real meaning of peace. Our common understanding of peace is the absence of war or conflict, and everyone live in harmony.
But is that the real meaning of peace?
The real meaning of peace goes far beyond the absence of conflict or war, it is actually “Shalom”. In Hebrew, “shâlôm” means wholeness, completeness, soundness and prosperity. It’s a perfect state of being (much more better than merely the absence of conflicts!). When did we ever live in such state? It was a short period of time before Adam and Eve fell into sin. Sin ruined this “Shalom” in us and the “Shalom” is lost.
Remember how they tried to hide themselves from God? Remember how they accuse each others to protect themselves? These are symptoms of the absence of peace in their heart!
As Romans 3:13-18, after a series describing how sinful mankind is, it went on and says: “These people quickly become violent. Wherever they go, they leave ruin and destruction. They don’t know how to live in peace. They don’t even fear God.”
How can an imperfect person achieve perfect peace? The remedy? A redemption of heart!
Jesus Christ came for this very purpose: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) He bore our sins, and take away our iniquities, so that we can have that “Shalom” restored in us (“Shalom” is a result of having perfect communion and fellowship with God)
Only a person who experience the “Shalom” in God is able to bring true peace to the world around him! No wonder the Lord compliment the peacemaker as “God’s children”. This shows the value of those who spread this wholesome peace to everyone around them.
I challenged the brothers and sisters reading this out there: “How would you be a peacemaker wherever you are?”
Here’s the link to my Prezi presentation. Enjoy “zooming” away and I hope it gives you a better understanding
http://prezi.com/toqcstcz8ehg/peacetalk-ending/
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