The Knife Angel

The Knife Angel

Bible:Isaiah 2:1-4

Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore (V.4).

Reading

With knife crime on the rise across the United Kingdom, the British Ironwork Centre came up with an idea. Working with local police forces, the Centre put 200 boxes around the country and asked people to give up their knives. About 100,000 knives were anonymously dropped in the boxes—some still with blood on their blades. These were then passed to an artist who blunted them and wrote on them the names of young knife-crime victims, plus messages of regret from ex-offenders. All 100,000 weapons were then welded together to create the Knife Angel—a 27-foot figure with shimmering steel wings. It is the National Monument against violence and aggression.
Standing in front of the Knife Angel I wondered how many thousands of people it’s protecting as a symbol of peace. I thought too of Isaiah’s vision of the new heaven and earth (ISAIAH 65:17), a place where children won’t die young (V.20) or grow up in crime-filled poverty (VV.22-23); and a place where knife crime is gone because all blades have been reshaped for bringing life, not death (2:4). That new world isn’t yet here, but we can pray that we will see more and more examples of heaven on earth (MATTHEW 6:10). In its own way, the Knife Angel gives us a glimpse of God’s promised future. How can we be examples of God’s love today, showing His offer of peace through Jesus to the people around us?

WE CAN BE EXAMPLES OF TRUE PEACE
IN A WORLD OF FIGHTING AND VIOLENCE.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries