Now It’s Time For Peace and Rebuilding the Nation
By Rev. Jacob Deng Garang, Melbourne, Australia
Dear fellow compatriots,
December 29, 2015 (SSB) — My aim in writing this is to encourage people to know the importance of living in an ethical way, in accordance with Christian values, and to pray for our land and the people who are governing the country, or the leaders of the time.
Now is the time for peace and rebuilding. God has planned a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). I want to let people know that there is a time for everything. A time for birth, a time for death, a time for war, and a time for peace. This is a time for peace.
Let us pray for peace, all of us in our country and may God rebuild our country. God has rights over life, death, resurrection and new life, but he has not given us the rights to take each others’ lives. We are not liberating anything in senseless war which is claiming the lives of innocent people.
The time has come for us South Sudanese wherever we are to embrace peace, unity, reconciliation, love, healing and rebuilding, as well as to stop preaching hatred amongst ourselves. For we are one nation, one people. Please I urge as a priest, echoing the calls of His Excellency The President and Most Reverend Dr. Daniel Deng that we preach love and unity amongst ourselves and to be ambassadors of peace. Jesus Christ the great leader summarises the Ten Commandments into two, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4) and “love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).
Now we South Sudanese are killing each other and our neighbours are killing us. In reference to the previous war, we had one common foe, and it is important that we remember and pay tribute to the sacrifices many of our people made who put their lives on the line, and many were martyred for our independence and freedom. But now, we are brothers and sisters. We claim in mottos that we are one nation, one people, but very sadly we have seen and are seeing even people killing those who are their very own, like Cain killed Abel in Genesis 4.
But from whom shall we seek help, where will our help and strength for new spirit and resolve come from, and who will step up for us? The answer is, our help comes from the LORD who created the heavens and the earth. Us South Sudanese must forgive each other, not keeping a record of past wrongs, but instead open up a brand new page. Because Christ has first loved us in this way, dying to forgive all those who trust in him, who first had a record of wrong before him.
For everyone sins, it is a universal human trait common to every human other than Jesus. But in order to move on constructively and not tear ourselves apart, it is imperative we forgive each other and make true, proper and meaningful attempts at reconciliation, and at changing our ways, including by ceasing hostilities.
I want to wish our people a happy new year of peace and connection with God.
May God bless the people of South Sudan, and may the LORD be with you.
Thanks,
Fr: Revd Jacob Deng Garang Akech, Former Theological Student at Trinity College University of Divinity, Melbourne. You can reach him at garangakech@yahoo.com.
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