Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17 In a world of sinners, people sin against each other. Christians do too. Even in church, we often give and take offense. How do we handle this? Ironically and pathetically, often with more sin. With bitterness and grudges. With spats and quarrels. With name calling and gossip. This can happen in the Christian home too. But Christ did not die for us in order that we might live in hostility toward each other. He gives us a better way. The better way is the peace of Christ that removes conflict and renews relationships. Let me ask you a question, “When you have conflict in your life, do you seek resolution or reconciliation?” Do you even realize there is a difference? Take these two examples: 1) Divorce might seem like it resolves conflict, but it fails to bring reconciliation; or 2) disgruntled church members might transfer their memberships to a neighboring church to remove themselves from the fray, and they might think that resolves the problem, but reconciliation never takes place. Now do you see the difference? If God thought to resolve our sin by quitting on us and walking away from us rather than removing what separates us, imagine where we would be. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” seeks reconciliation. Like an umpire or a referee, the peace of Christ makes the call for every conflict, seeks to remove whatever stands between the two conflicting parties (usually sin), and strives to bring together again. Just like Jesus did with us and God. Our sin caused conflict with our holy God. It stood between us. But Jesus removed that conflict with his death. His death removed the hostility and made peace between us and God. It is amazing the relationship that we can share with God as a result. The peace of God has been established in our hearts through God’s word—his good news of salvation through Christ. Given the wisdom that Jesus is our peace, we now teach it, live it, and share it in church, at home, and even in our community. And in everything we are thankful to God. Because when the peace of Christ reigns, harmony reigns. Prayer: Gracious God, heavenly Father, lead us to be ambassadors of Christ’s peace. Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015