"i was asking the girls "what is it that you are looking for from camp" one of the girls perked up and said "peace"'
"if we were to be honest with ourselves we would probably all say we want peace more then anything in life."
"When that becomes a heart decision and not a head decision there is a peace that is experienced."
"i have sat on my backside not practicing any of these things except to the people in my little circle, at those times i did not have peace."
Colossians
12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
I was doing a message for camp when we take the girls at camp to churches to tell them about the progress at camp and i came across this passage. The way it started was that i was asking the girls "what is it that you are looking for from camp" one of the girls perked up and said "peace". So the search was a foot and i started looking to do a message on peace.
When is came across this passage, and i must have read this several times before and never seen this, i realized that the peace of the messiah was not at the top? That seemed strange because if we were to be honest with ourselves we would probably all say we want peace more then anything in life.
Now i am not talking about the peace we need when the two kids are running around the house, and your head is spinning. I am talking about a inner peace. A peace that is all of lives crazy times you still are at peace with life. An example from my life would be that i can have the craziest day at work, come home and have a house that's crazy too (opposite to physical peace) and still feel an inner peace.
i think when it comes to relating this to what the bible teaches on peace when have several way of experiencing peace. Or should i say there are to kinds of peace... Firstly there is a peace that comes when we except what Jesus did for us on the cross. When we realize that he paid the price for what was due us for all the bad we have done. When that becomes a heart decision and not a head decision there is a peace that is experienced, I call that a salvation peace. Then comes want i call and sanctification peace (meaning a process of becoming more like Jesus), this applies to the passage above.
If peace is what a majority of us are searching for why is it not at the top of the passage? When Paul is writing this he places it right in the middle of a bunch of other things.
When we look closer at the passage we notice that what comes before it is actions. Why actions?
"put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity."
My thoughts are this is about doing something first and then the Peace of the Messiah will come with those actions.
I am blessed enough to work in a ministry where i have no choice but to apply these principles every day. There have been plenty of times when that has not been the case and i have sat on my backside not practicing any of these things except to the people in my little circle, at those times i did not have peace. Think about the times when i was active and going out there and applying these principles to my working environment, whether in the British Reserves or Security Work etc, that's when is had some inner peace.
In fact isn't that why loads of people in the world today, even those who don't know the bible and are deliberately applying it to their lives, are going out and showing kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness etc. Are they not doing this because it gives them a sense of peace? Yes sense of purpose might be in that but peace would defiantly be an outcome.
So here is the challenge we have from this passage. Are you seeking peace?
Show compassion,
Are you seeking peace? Show kindness. Are you seeking peace? Be Humble. Are you seeking peace? Show gentleness to someone. Are you seeking peace? Be accepting. Are you seeking peace today? Forgive those, as the Lord has forgiven you.
Doing these to someone when its not easy, when you don't know how it will turn out, someone you don't know that well.
Most of all, and this is the hardest on forgive, not necessarily for their sake but so that the Peace of Messiah would rest upon you.
If you have been sitting on pew at church and not getting out there and doing...that is not why or how you came to know the Lord, no matter your age, you must get going and doing because i am pretty sure you do not have peace sitting on a pew.
May we get doing, so that the Peace of the Messiah would rest upon you. And be Thankful.
Adrian
If you are reading this and do not have peace, consider becoming a Christian today. Go to Peace with God to find out more.
Bible verses used from the HCSB and referenced from www.biblegateway.org
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