This last weekend, we kicked off a new series called “Peacemakers.” Scripture has a great deal to say about real peace, not the fake kind that the world offers, but real, lasting peace. I mentioned how there is real peace, and there is what I called “Robitussin peace” - it seems to work on the outside, but in doesn’t address the problem inside. It just addresses the symptoms, not the real cause. It’s “peace” that is apart from what God teaches in his word, and it brings to mind Jeremiah 6:14 “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious, peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace.”
There are three dimensions to the peace that God offers us through Christ:
1) Peace with God
2) Peace with others
3) Peace within ourselves
You cannot pursue one apart from the others - they are intricately connected.
Jesus tied his reputation to the unity / the peace that He called for among those who followed Him and would follow Him (John 17:20-23). He prayed in the Garden that we would be one, as He and the Father are one. He was asking for a restoration of the community that was lost at the Fall in Genesis 3 - he was asking for a return to what God had intended - real community, both with God and with each other.
“Jesus did not pray that his followers would always be happy, that they would never suffer, or that their rights would always be defended. Jesus prayed that his followers would get along with one another. This was so important to him that he tied his reputation and the credibility of his message to how well his followers would display unity and oneness.” --Ken Sande, The Peacemaker
How important is it to be a peacemaker? How important are our relationships with each other? Very. For Jesus to tie His reputation and the reputation of His message to our oneness, that’s pretty significant.
“What about the person who has deeply wronged you? Gossiped about you? Betrayed your trust? Failed to keep a commitment that they made? Damaged your property or reputation? What price will you pay to encourage that person’s repentance and restore peace in your relationship? Will you let go of bitterness? Will you give up self-pity? Will you divest yourself of the desire to make that person suffer for the wrong that he or she has done to you?” -- Ken Sande
Remember this: Jesus paid a far greater price to secure your forgiveness from God and my forgiveness from God. We didn’t deserve it - we didn’t even want it. But He paid the price so that it could be offered to each of us. Can we truly stand and say that we refuse to offer forgiveness and restoration to another person when God has forgiven us so much?
The takeaway this week was a simple one: If we want peace inside ourselves, we must pursue peace with God and peace with others. For a Christ follower, this is not optional - this is what Jesus commanded. What sense does it make for a Christ follower to not forgive when we have been forgiven so much? It’s like community - how can you follow Christ and not be a part of His bride, the Church? We must seek to avoid those inconsistencies in our lives and remember that what God has asked, this is what we do. We do it out of gratitude and out of love for God - not to repay Him or earn what He has given - we can never do that. We obey His Word out of love for Him.
If you haven't read the book The Peacemaker, by Ken Sande, I highly recommend it to you. It's well worth your time if you're serious about being a disciple of Jesus. It's packed with Scripture, as it is a Scripture based study on what it means to be a Peacemaker, so you'll want to read it with your Bible open next to you.
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