Peace is not just a quiet feeling we have within ourselves in a calm setting. It is a way of life. Peace is about trusting our lives to God. It is about accepting who and where we are and working with that. It is about accepting others and esteeming them as better than ourselves. Peace is about letting go of offenses and speaking the soft word that turns away wrath. We must actively seek and pursue peace in our lives.
No peace in wickedness:
"There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." (Isaiah 48:22)
Peace comes from loving God’s law:
"Great peace have those who love thy law; nothing can make them
stumble." (Psalm 119:165)
Through Jesus we have peace with God:
"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to
this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing
the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2)
We are also to be at peace with one another:
"Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltness, how will you
season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one
another." (Mark 9:50)
Must pursue what makes peace:
"For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; he who thus serves Christ is
acceptable to God and approved by men. Let us then pursue what makes
for peace and for mutual upbuilding." (Romans 14:17-19)
Must be ruled by the Spirit, not the flesh:
"To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the
Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is
hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot;
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:6-8)
We must not let ourselves be troubled:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let
them be afraid." (John 14:27)
Tell God our needs and then trust Him:
"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
We must maintain unity:
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life
worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all
lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in
love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3)
Love creates peace:
"Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion,
kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another
and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together
in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful."
(Colossians 3:12-15)
The application of God’s wisdom brings peace:
"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or
insincerity. And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by
those who make peace." (James 3:17-18)
Peace is controlling the tongue and turning from evil:
"For he that would love life and see good days, let him keep his
tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away
from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it."
(1 Peter 3:10-11)
We are to be at peace with everyone:
"Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which
no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)
Be diligent to be found at peace:
"But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you
wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish,
and at peace." (2 Peter 3:13-14)
Exercise:
1. How can you be a peacemaker? Read the following and summarize what peacemaking actions are. (Proverbs 15:1; 19:11; Matthew 5:39-46; 6:14,15; 7:1-5; 18:15; Luke 17:3,4)
2. One way of creating peace is to overcome evil with good. Read Proverbs 25:21-22 and think of as many ways as you can of doing so.
3. The following are some of the opposites of peace: Arguing, contention - Proverbs 26:21,22; revenge - Proverbs 24:17,18; impatience - Exodus 32:1; bitterness - Hebrews 12:15; hatred - 1 John 4:20; anger - James 1:19,20. Read the verses and write down what the consequences of each behaviour is.
Quotations taken from The Revised Standard Version