Healing the Wounds of War

ABRAHAM was in a guerrilla army for 20 years. * But he has stopped fighting and will never go to war again. In fact, some of his former enemies are now his closest friends. What made him change? The Bible did. It gave Abraham hope and insight, helping him to view human affairs from God’s standpoint. The Bible took away his desire to fight, and he started to heal his sorrow, grief, hatred, and bitterness. He found that the Bible contains potent medicine for the heart.

How does the Bible help a person to heal emotional wounds? It could not change what had happened to Abraham. Still, reading and meditating on God’s Word brought his thinking into line with that of the Creator. He now has a hope for the future, and he has new priorities. Things important to God have become important to him. Once this started to happen, the wounds in his heart began to heal. That is how Abraham was helped to change.

Plunged Into Civil War

Abraham was born in the 1930’s in Africa. After the second world war, his country was ruled by a powerful neighbor, but many of Abraham’s countrymen wanted independence. In 1961, Abraham joined a freedom movement that waged guerrilla war against the powerful neighbor.

“They were our enemies. They planned to kill us, so we set out to kill them,” explains Abraham.

Abraham’s life was often at risk, so in 1982, after 20 years of armed struggle, he fled to Europe. By now he was in his late 40’s, and finding himself with time on his hands, he took stock of his life. What had become of his dreams? What did the future hold? Abraham met some of Jehovah’s Witnesses and started to attend their meetings. He recalled that in Africa some years before, he had read a tract given to him by a Witness. The tract described a coming paradise on earth and a heavenly government that would rule over mankind. Could that really be true?

 Abraham says: “From the Bible, I learned that all those years spent fighting were wasted. The only government that will treat everyone justly is God’s Kingdom.”

Shortly after Abraham was baptized as a Witness of Jehovah, a man by the name of Robert fled from Africa to the European city where Abraham was living. Robert and Abraham had fought in the same war but on opposite sides. Robert had often wondered about the real purpose in life. He was a religious man, and having read parts of the Bible, he knew that God’s name is Jehovah. When the Witnesses from Abraham’s congregation offered to help Robert understand the Bible better, he readily agreed.

Robert explains: “From the very beginning, I was impressed with the way the Witnesses use the names of Jehovah and Jesus, acknowledging that they are separate persons. That was in harmony with what I already knew from the Bible. The Witnesses also dress neatly and are kind to others, regardless of nationality. Such things had a deep impact upon me.”

Enemies Become Friends

Robert and Abraham, former enemies, are now close friends. They serve as full-time evangelizers in the same congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “During the war, I often wondered how it was possible for people from neighboring countries​—many of whom belonged to the same religion—​to hate one another,” explains Abraham. “Robert and I belonged to the same church, yet we went to war against each other. Now we are both Jehovah’s Witnesses, and our faith has united us.”

“That is the difference,” adds Robert. “We now belong to a faith that makes us part of a genuine brotherhood. We would never go to war again.” The Bible has had a powerful influence on the hearts of these former enemies. Hatred and bitterness have gradually given way to trust and friendship.

At the same time that Abraham and Robert were at war, two other young men stood on opposite sides of another conflict between two neighboring countries. Soon the Bible acted like a very potent medicine to heal their hearts too. How?

Kill​—Then Die a Martyr’s Death

Gabriel, who was raised in a religious family, was taught that his homeland was in the throes of a holy war. Hence, at 19 years of age, he volunteered for military service and asked to be sent to the battlefront. For 13 months he was in the fiercest of the battles, at times just a mile from the enemy. “I remember one occasion in particular,” he says. “Our commander told us that the enemy would attack that night. We were so keyed up that we fired our mortar all night long.” He regarded people from the  neighboring country as his enemies, deserving of death. “My thought was to kill as many as possible. Then, like many of my friends, I wanted to die a martyr’s death.”

However, in time Gabriel became disillusioned. He fled to the mountains, crept across the frontier into a neutral country, and traveled to Europe. He kept asking God why life was so difficult, whether problems were a punishment from God. He came into contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses, who showed him from the Bible why life is so full of problems today.​—Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

The more Gabriel learned from the Bible, the more he realized that it contains the truth. “I learned that we can live forever on a paradise earth. Strangely enough, that is something I longed for as a child.” The Bible comforted Gabriel and soothed his hitherto troubled heart. His deepest emotional wounds began to heal. So by the time he met Daniel, a former enemy, Gabriel felt no hatred any more. But what made Daniel come to Europe?

“If You Really Exist, Please Help Me!”

Daniel was raised as a Catholic and at the age of 18 was called up for military service. He was sent to fight in the same war as Gabriel but on the opposing side. Close to the battlefront, Daniel was riding in a tank when it took a direct hit. His friends were killed, and he was seriously injured and taken prisoner. He spent months in the hospital and in a camp before being deported to a neutral country. Alone and destitute, he considered suicide. Daniel prayed to God: “If you really exist, please help me!” The very next day, Jehovah’s Witnesses called on him and were able to answer many of his questions. Finally, he traveled to Europe as a refugee. Once again, Daniel associated with the Witnesses and studied the Bible. What he learned eased his anxiety and bitterness.

Gabriel and Daniel are now good friends, united in a spiritual brotherhood as baptized Witnesses of Jehovah. “My love for Jehovah and knowledge of the Bible have helped me to see things as he does. Daniel is no longer my enemy. Years ago I would gladly have killed him. The Bible has taught me the exact opposite​—to be willing to die for him,” says Gabriel.

“I saw people of different religions and nationalities murdering one another,” says Daniel. “And there were people of the same religion on opposite sides of the war killing one another. When I saw this, I felt that God was to blame. Now I know that Satan is behind all wars. Gabriel and I are now fellow believers. We will never fight again!”

 “The Word of God Is Alive and Exerts Power”

Why did Abraham, Robert, Gabriel, and Daniel change so dramatically? How were they able to erase deep-rooted hatred and grief from their hearts?

Each of these men read, meditated on, and learned the truth from the Bible, which is “alive and exerts power.” (Hebrews 4:12) The Author of the Bible is the Creator of mankind, who knows how to influence for good the heart of someone who is willing to listen and learn. “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness.” Once a reader allows himself to be guided by the Bible, he takes on a new set of values and standards. He begins to learn how Jehovah views things. This process brings many benefits, including a healing of the wounds of war.​—2 Timothy 3:16.

God’s Word explains that no national, racial, or ethnic group is better or worse than another. “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” The reader who accepts this is helped gradually to overcome feelings of racial or national hatred.​—Acts 10:34, 35.

Bible prophecies indicate that God will soon replace the present system of human rule with his Messianic Kingdom. By means of this government, God “is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.” Institutions that promote wars and urge people to fight in them will be removed. Victims of war will be resurrected and given a chance to live on a paradise earth. No one will need to flee in the face of an aggressor or an oppressor.​—Psalm 46:9; Daniel 2:44; Acts 24:15.

Of humans living at that time, the Bible says: “They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy . . . They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance.” There is no damage or injury that will not be healed. Putting faith in such a hope gradually removes grief and sorrow from a person’s heart.​—Isaiah 65:21-23.

The Bible is indeed potent medicine for the heart. Its teachings are already healing the wounds of war. Former enemies are being united in one international brotherhood. This healing process will continue in God’s new system until there is no more hatred and bitterness, sorrow and grief in the hearts of mankind. The Creator promises that “the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart.”​—Isaiah 65:17.

[Footnote]

[Blurb on page 4]

“From the Bible, I learned that all those years spent fighting were wasted”

[Blurb on page 5]

The Bible can have a powerful influence on the hearts of former enemies

[Blurb on page 6]

Hatred and bitterness gradually gave way to trust and friendship

[Blurb on page 6]

Once a reader allows himself to be guided by the Bible, he takes on a new set of values and standards

[Picture on page 7]

Former enemies are now being united in an international brotherhood

[Picture Credit Line on page 4]

Refugee camp: UN PHOTO 186811/​J. Isaac