Hi Ladies!
The fruit of the spirit we’re looking at today is Peace. We often think of peace in terms of world peace and the state of not being at war. One of the dictionary definitions (and there are many) is cessation of strife or mental freedom of annoyance. If you’ve raised or worked with children, you may have asked the question, “Can I have five minutes of peace?” Around Christmas we will see “Peace on Earth” on greeting cards and on signs. Is this “Peace on Earth” what Jesus was bringing?
The idea of world peace and the ceasing of strife is a definitely something we should strive for but in reality, it’s unlikely that we will see this type of peace universally, at least until Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom. Any time human beings are involved, there will be strife somewhere.
Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This passage goes on to tell us that a person’s enemies will be of his own household. I don’t believe this necessarily means that fathers and sons and mothers and daughters will automatically be enemies, but I think Jesus wants His followers to be more devoted to Him than to their family and friends. He goes on to say that if we love anyone else more than Him, then we are not worthy of Him. This was a hard pill for me to swallow in my early walk. I love my family more than anybody and I would lay down my life for any one of them as I’m sure every one of you would do as well for your family. But we cannot live our lives to please our family members, only God. When we follow the teaching of God first, we will have peace.
Romans chapter 12 gives us some good advice on what the marks of a true Christian are. Verse 18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” I think this is the peace that we’re looking for as fruit of the spirit. As Christians we don’t want to be argumentative or vengeful. It’s easy in this world to get into an argument, look at social media for five minutes or less and you will find something that you disagree with and want to argue, and usually with someone you don’t even know. I joined a Facebook group when I first brought Peaches home. I knew that Sphynx cats have special needs when it comes to their health and well-being. I found a page for owners so I could get some good information on her care. Wow, so many opinions about EVERYTHING!!!!! Food choices…people who fed dry food were being attacked by those who fed raw chicken only! Bathing…weekly cat bathers were accusing the non-bathers of abusing the cat! Apparently, the cat is supposed to have two litterboxes…my cousin Mary Agnes had 16 children and they all shared a one-bathroom house! Some of these cats were living better lives than most people! I had to stop reading when I saw a cat wearing a Chanel suit!!! There is a fight awaiting around every corner if we are willing to participate. It’s our job to remain at peace with everyone. Everyone has an opinion, and we can walk away agreeing to disagree on those things.
My favorite verse on peace is in the letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians in chapter 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious 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 surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So, the mental peace that we all desire comes from God alone, but we have to do our part as well. Paul tells us pretty clearly what we need to do to have the peace of God. We need to rejoice, we need to be reasonable with those around us, we shouldn’t worry, we should be thankful and in prayer and when we do these things, we will have the peace of God.
So, this week, let’s try to fill our hearts and minds with the things of God. When we do this, there is no room for worries or arguments. Come join our peaceful little church on the hill, it’s worth the drive!
Lori Hug
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