The Search for Peace

By Fran Simmons | July 21, 2016

From the collapse of the American Stock Market in 1929 to the horror of World War II, the world was in search of peace. When the American investors lost $40 billion in a single day known as “Black Thursday”, economic depression sent the world in a mad search for peace. From 1929 to 1933, world production of industry declined more than one-third, prices dropped more than one-half, and more than 30 million people lost their jobs.

The church records fail to give us an account of the impact of this depression in our region. However, local members say, “Time were hard.” Cotton, which was a bumper crop, had fallen to only $20 – $25 a bale. It seemed most people in the crossroads community had to learn to do without.

The church did seem to have a sensitive spirit of giving during this time. The love offerings and mission efforts certainly were not in great amounts, nevertheless, they were given quite often. But the love of the church went beyond her giving to her message.

While social critics, novelists, and poets were portraying man as a slave to technological invention, as a lonely lost being in a world of depressed complexity, Liberty preached a message of hope and deliverance. Again, the world had no answer, but the church responded with a living answer in Christ. Rev. S. H. Lewis was the pastor of Liberty. He remained with them throughout the crisis from 1929 – 1939.

The search for peace grew. By September of 1939 a sinister leader named Adolph Hitler had lead his German troops into Poland, plunging the world in to its second war. Hitler’s ideologies were basically racism and egotistical madness. Hitler, a man who was baptized, who took no strong drink or form of tobacco, murdered millions of innocent men, women and children. Here stands Divine evidence that church membership and moral abstinence from habit have nothing to do with being, “Born Again.”

America was largely unaware of Hitler’s atrocities in their early stages and tried to remain neutral. But in November of 1942 we joined the Allied forces and declared war on Nazi Germany.

On December 7, 1942, “A day that will live in infamy,” Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. The wheel for war in the Pacific was set in motion as the American people rallied behind the war efforts of our government.

We were involved in a full-scale world war, fighting Germany in Europe and Japan at sea.

The church met together in many prayer meetings, always remembering the faithful overseas. Our freedom, our church, our future was in their hands, and, praise God, our troops were in His hands.

On May 8, 1945, the Evil Furher and his regime collapsed. Allied troops took Berlin, but not before millions of lives had been lost.

On August 6th and 9th, 1945, American planes dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Only five days later, Japan surrendered to the United States. The bombing in Hiroshima took 76,000 lives, the bombing in Nagasaki took 50,000 lives.

Had the search for peace really ended? While many marched in victory parades, homeless children in Europe and Japan cried in the night. While Americans were busy embracing one another, thousands of Jews entertained empty arms. Even America had paid a great price for Liberty. Perhaps, the message of peace was more desperately needed now than before the war had begun, a peace that passeth all understanding.