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Throne of Weapons, created by Cristovao Canhavato. A chair made from Portuguese rifles and Russian AK-47 assault rifles in the style of the traditional African throne for elders.

This is a Mozambican story – and in this month to consider the place of violence in our times – may it be instructive for the West.

Mozambique’s civil war ended in 1992, but left a deadly legacy. During the years of violence, guns flooded into the former Portuguese colony — Christian Aid estimates there were some seven million guns hidden in the country! Reuters reported in 2005:

“Pistols, rifles, machineguns and mines that spread terror across Mozambique during years of civil war have been transformed from agents of death and destruction into art, winning hearts at home and abroad.

People have been encouraged to hand over weapons in exchange for sewing machines, agricultural tools, construction materials or bicycles. After the weapons had been put out of action, some of the pieces were used to make strikingly original sculptures.

“We decided to collect (the guns) so they cannot be used in crime or other violent incidents,” said Anglican Bishop Dinis Sengulane.

Sengulane is president of Mozambique’s Christian Council, which started the ‘Transforming Arms into Tools’ project in 1995. Since then, it says it has collected around 60,000 guns from former combatants in one of the world’s poorest countries.”

There were many guns in the hands of people and a gun is a very bad adviser,” said Sengulane.

If a gun is a bad adviser, what is a good advisor?

What I love about redemption is the transformation of something of decay and dismemberment into something that re-members and gives life. The Gospel is all about this transformation, restoration, redemption. The transformation of arms into tools is a physical expression of the hope of relational restoration.

So if gun is a very bad advisor, what is a very good advisor?

The simple answer is: Wisdom.

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

Proverbs 3:18

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”

Proverbs 11:30

For more on how to “take hold of wisdom” go to the Proverbs.

If you are serious about taking hold of wisdom, find someone who is wise, and learn from them, for wisdom is learned in the community of the wise.

In an act of transformation and redemption, Mozambican artist Cristovao Canhavato took the instruments of violence and created the “Tree of Life“:

Tree of Life: was built from the surrender of 600,000 weapons that were converted into art

“We could use other materials but guns give more meaning because we talk about peace by destroying its opposite.”

He destroys the violent purpose of the guns, but the guns themselves are not destroyed. They are re-purposed for peace. This is what the Prince of Peace does when we let Him work in our lives: He takes our rage and wounds, and He transforms them. He transforms our arms into tools, He inspires us to beat our swords into plowshares.

Canhavato works under the name Kester and is a member of Nucleo de Arte, the oldest collective of artists in Mozambique — started making sculptures from decommissioned weapons in 1997.

For more see “Swords into Plowshares, Palas por Pistolas” – concerning Mexico’s similar campaign in 2008.

This is what I love about the work of God in Christ as He takes the rags and ruins of our lives, and makes them something beautiful and meaningful.