Maintaining Peace

The Bible tells us that as much as it is up to you seek Peace with all men. You are not responsible for what you can't control, but as much as it is up to you... There are some people that will put a guilt trip on you to make peace with them but they are not peaceable. It is not that you can't get along with them, it is that you have exhausted all your resources but they refuse to be peaceable. Why?

There are three kinds of people in life, those that are going through a storm, those who are coming out of a storm and those who become a storm. These are people that no matter where you put them, they will always cause a storm. They are contentious, quarrelsome, and if there is no trouble, they will cause trouble. They are people who refuse to embrace peace and in a moment of trauma, instead of passing through it, the trauma gets in them and they become trauma. No matter what job, who they are married to, what Church they join, they are always causing a storm. These are the people I run from. I have enough fight with the devil, I don't need to surround myself with people who are trying to be the devil. They try to put the responsibility on you to fix them when in reality only God can fix them.

These people are full of poison and whoever they come in contact with they poison. You can throw them a good person, with a good attitude, if they hang with the poison, what's on them will get on the good person, and they will become the poison. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 1:-3 that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. What is the bond of peace? It is keeping unity by keeping your relationships right. As much as it is up to you keep your relationships pure. God puts the responsibility on you and I to do whatever we can to make peace, but after we have exhausted all of our resources and done everything we can, it is time to wipe the dust off your feet and move on. Don't fret it, or sweat it just move on.

The angels that showed up to announce the birth of the Messiah defined true peace. They said peace is goodwill towards all men. Jesus brought the same message, goodwill to all men, whether it was the poor, the sick, the sinful, the religious, He brought goodwill to all men. Paul tells us that love does not rejoice in iniquity. Love does not rejoice in the downfall of another. I do not want to see you fail, no matter what you have done to me. I do not rejoice in your struggle, your pain. I want to see you succeed, win, overcome. I want goodwill towards all men.

There are two primary words for peace in the bible, the O.T word which is internal peace and the N.T word which is relational peace. If someone has done something to you, and you desire to see them pay, then that is an area where you lack peace. Peace is what Stephen had as his persecutors began to stone him, he prayed for them. Jesus was perfected in Peace when he said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Joseph had peace when he could have made his brothers pay, but instead He viewed it all as part of God's plan. Peace is when I relaize no matter what you do to me, God will take what you meant for evil and turn it for good. Refuse to let that poison get in you, endeavor to keep the peace. Why? Because Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers for they are the sons of God. They are the mature ones. Those that have been perfected in God's love. There is a special blessing for those who stay in peace. So let me ask you, are you going through a storm or are you becoming one? Do you create havoc or do you bring peace?

Blessings,
Craig