How can we be holy--set apart, pure, distinct-- and still yet live in peace with an unholy world? How are we supposed to be different, to stand up for what is right, and yet strive to remain at peace with all men?
How do I live in peace with a friend I know to be living in sin? How do I remain peaceful towards the one who insults me, taunts me, dares me to stand up for what I believe?
How can I be at peace in a world with whom I am at war?
How?
Peace came from above.
Notice the past-tense verb. I'm not saying peace comes from above. I am saying peace is already here. In us.
In John 14:27 Jesus says this, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Jesus left His peace behind. He left it in the care of the ones He loves. Us!
If you go up one verse, you see that Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. He is the peace Jesus left with us. He is the peace given to us. Not as the world gives, but as only God can give.
Freely. Permanently. Irrevocably.
We already have peace. He is inside us.
All we have to do is live it.
How do we remain pure in a world that is not and yet remain at peace? We hold on to the peace inside us, the Holy Spirit. How do we peacefully resist sin? We allow the Spirit to speak to us and through us. How do I find peace in times of trial? I look to what God has already given me.
The peace of Christ. The Holy Spirit. Living in me.
Ah . . . Peace.
Make every effort.
That means try. Try to be at peace with all men. It's not going to happen all the time. There will be conflict. There will be unrest. The peace Jesus left with us is the same peace He had when He cleansed the temple, or when He called the Pharisees blasphemers. He made every effort to be at peace, but holiness trumps all.
What He left us with is also the same peace He had when He asked His Father to forgive the ones who drove the nails into His wrists. The same peace He has when He forgives our sins today.
Peace has a lot to do with forgiveness. In fact, when it comes to living in peace with all men, I'm not sure the two can be separated. How else could God be at peace with us?
Be at peace. Be holy. Like Jesus.
Our peace came from Him.
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