War is not the opposite of peace. War is just a form of conflict, possibly the worst kind. Conflict is simply any disagreement between 2 or more people. Peace is something however that can be enjoyed on the inside by one person, but it is best when it is known by many.
Peace starts when we choose not to conflict with someone. What happens first is an understanding and then an agreement based on commonality. When we seek commonality with others, we are seeking peace, and what we end up with is a relationship.
That sounds like a good sound bite or quotation from some famous dead guy. The fact is that I am not famous and I am currently alive and kicking, but the statement is meant to be as profound as anything you read. I am not looking for fame, only the opportunity to shine a light on some dark places in our lives. My pursuit of peace is personal but it is meant to become corporate. My desire is to share the message of hope in Christ, which includes sharing His message of love, which includes His message of peace.
Somehow in the history of time since Jesus came, we have found a way to filter out this message of peace and suggest that Jesus didn’t mean it that way. We conceal the facts and massage the words to fit our beliefs. We can read His words but to be honest, those words are difficult to take and it is a lot easier to adapt His words to our lifestyle and not the other way around.
If you were to take the sins of the flesh out of the equation and show me what’s left, there would be only love. This is what Jesus was trying to show us for 3 years, and what his disciples tried to show us following the Passover. If love is all we had to show for our emotions, then peace would follow simply as a consequence of love. Too many people get hung up on the concept of peace and how we get there, but the path is not that hard; it starts with love.
In a nutshell, when we live our lives with love toward one another, peace follows. The very root of all of our relationships is a solid foundation of love and when disagreements arise we need to return our thoughts to the love we share. At that very moment peace is achieved and not through some great act of our own, but when we understand that His love is enough for all of us.
Peace is a result of love. War is a result of hate. This is not a game, it is an imperative that we understand the severity of our actions and recognize the impact we have on this world, but more importantly, the impact we have on eternity.
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”. John 13:34 NIV
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My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.
D
