Seeds Of Peace

Read: Romans 12

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

IN WORD

Most revolutions aim for eventual peace but sow discord in order to get it. Not so with ours. We sow seeds of peace in order to overthrow a culture of discord and grow in its place an entirely different community. And by peace, we don’t simply mean the absence of conflict. We mean unity, wholeness, and a genuine, heartfelt bond—deep, authentic peace. And we are instructed to do everything we can to get it.

Is that realistic? After all, peace isn’t always up to us. There are times when we have done everything we can to reconcile with an adversary, forgive an offender, or seek forgiveness for our own offenses, and still we find the other party resistant. We can’t force peace on anyone; that wouldn’t be peace at all. But having done our part, we can live with a clear conscience and continue to hold open the possibility of reconciliation and restoration. We can choose to be “unoffendable,” letting slights and affronts roll away without sticking to us. We can let disagreements lie dormant, refusing to pick up the case and try it again and again. We can be authentically ourselves while letting others be authentically themselves, praying not for them to see things our way but to draw close to the God of grace. These are the things that make for peace.

IN DEED

Living in peace with everyone is harder than it seems for those of us who actually have opinions and plans. The Word never tells us to compromise and let others run all over us; neither does it tell us to make sure we get our way. Where’s the balance? We can only find it moment by moment, case by case, and always in fellowship with the Spirit who leads us. Peace is His plan, not ours. He will help us accomplish it. And He sends us into a world that is fragmented, highly offendable, and ready to rumble, with this mission high on His list of priorities. Let’s do everything we can to fulfill it.

ADDITIONAL READING: Mark 9:50

All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace.

THOMAS À KEMPIS