January-February 1999
Common Ground
by Joseph Tkach
The morning mists lifted quietly from the forest of Pennsylvania that summer day in 1683. Two men -- one red, one white -- were about to sign a peace treaty that would last as long as any in our history.
In 1683, William Penn and a Delaware Indian chief made a peace that lasted for over 50 years. It was a rare moment. The treaty signed among the great elms of Pennsylvania was described by a French philosopher as "the only treaty between those nations and the Christian nations which was never sworn to and never broken."
Until greedy colonists began to cast longing eyes on the Delawares' hunting grounds in the next century, the words of William Penn rang out clear and true.
"There is one great God and power that hath made the world and all things therein," Penn addressed his Indian brothers. "This great God has written His law in our hearts, by which we are taught and commanded to love and help, and do good to one another."
And the chief of the Delaware earnestly embraced this revolutionary moment in America's race relations.
The peace that would last as long as the rivers shall run eventually floundered on human greed butit makes us think. That law Penn spoke about, that law of love written on our hearts, can still be lived out today. God can give us a heart and a will to tear down the walls of racism and hatred that threaten us. God never changes, and he honors his agreements longer than all the rivers shall run.