Good morning,
The promise of peace
It was just last month that God’s family was celebrating the birth of our Savior and singing along with the angels about the peace on earth that he would bring. Now that the holidays are over and the letdown that comes after the challenges of all the celebrating, we are facing one of the most emotionally difficult times of the year. Singing about peace and actually living in peace is more complicated then we thought when we were kids. What makes this whole area even more complex is what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10. He said, "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.(v.34) He went on to explain that sons would have problems with their dads, daughters would have problems with their mothers and in-laws would feel like “out-laws.” Then he said, Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ (v.36) Jesus then tells us that if we love family members more than we love him, you are not worthy of being mine.(v.37) God has designed us to develop our values and security from birth onward in a family setting, but if those standards are more important than following our Savior he said, If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.(vs.38,39)
What Jesus is telling us IS NOT an attack on our families. Every one of us has a sin nature, and so it is easier for us to trust our family patterns and our cultural values instead of the God we cannot see and a sin nature that tells us to make up our own rules for living. Jesus also said, I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) For those of us who have a genuine relationship with Jesus, we have the choice of obeying our sin nature or depending on the power of the Holy Spirit to control the way we think and live. Remember that Jesus also told his followers, "I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.(John 14:27) It’s important for each of us to remember that without faith it is impossible for us to please God.(Heb.11:6) Isaiah made this same point when he wrote, You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!(Is.26:3) The only way we will ever be able to really understand the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit working out his will in our lives, is when we have to make hard decisions that run against the way we have always done things and the way the world around us demands our obedience. Mary and Martha in Jesus day are a good example of this. Martha was hard at work making dinner and Mary was listening to Jesus teach. Martha asked Jesus to get Mary to help her. Jesus said, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”(Lk.10:41,42) I pray that the Lord will help us like Paul prayed when he wrote Romans 15:13.
Romans 15:13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Roy Wisner
