Peace Is Not Passive
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are at one, united in effort.
There is no conflict because their desire is one:
for our redemption, our renewal, and our restoration.
God comes with His arms outstretched,
inviting us into a relationship
that has, as its goal, our well-being.
It is my response to God’s love
that determines whether I enter that peace
or find myself provoked
by circumstances and the behaviors of others.
It is choosing not to take things
or another’s lived-out attitude personally
but remembering that the ways of man are self-serving,
as he seeks to embrace
that which he desires or thinks himself entitled to,
those things that look good and feed pride.
It was Jesus&’ connection with His Heavenly Father
that enabled Him to be “serene, strong, and stable”
amid adverse circumstances,
around antagonistic and rejecting people.
And it was the impact of this peace
that touched and transformed people.
Peace is being at rest,
knowing that all is right between God and myself.
It comes as I allow the Holy Spirit access to my life
and ask that God work in me first to uproot all
that is self-serving, self-protective, and self-defending
so that He can work through me,
making me an instrument of His peace,
providing the world with an alternative way of relating,
that of love!
Peace is not the absence of conflict
but a quietness, a stillness, a serenity even when others are hostile.
It is evidence that I am no longer trying
to juggle God’s interests and mine.
Jesus was at peace with others
even when they were at odds with Him.
Otherwise, others would never have seen God’s love.
He had no need to argue, defend, or prove Himself.
He knew that His will was one with God’s
and a love’s focus on redemption and restoration
is more powerful than force
to win back man’s allegiance.
Help us to remember that as well.
By Twila Charles Leichty