Seeking Peace

Is. 26:3; 32:17; Ps. 34:14; Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14-17; James 1:19-20

Peace takes work and effort. It doesn’t come naturally to any of us and it’s not easily found, not in our world and certainly not in any of us. That’s why God tells us in His word we have to seek it and pursue it. When we have to look for something that means it’s not readily available, but it also means we have an invested interest in finding it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother looking for it.

I’m sort of a neat freak; I like for everything to be in its proper place. It’s how I was raised and was reaffirmed in my days in the military. When you use something, you put it back where it belongs as soon as you’re finished with it in the same manner you found it. That not only keeps order but it also keeps the house or whatever domain you’re in neat and tidy. It’s also courteous to the next person who needs to use that particular object, in particular good ‘ol dad. Searching high and low throughout the house for something I need (usually a tool) isn’t my idea of fun. Turning what should be a simple, 10 minute project into a 45 minute fiasco of hide and seek is less than amusing to me. Call me what you will, but it unnerves me. I will look high and low, inside and out for whatever it is I’m seeking until it is found and order is returned.

Now before you go raising an eyebrow at my behavior, think to what unnerves you the most. That pet peeve, whatever it is, that others may not be as concerned with as you and think about the lengths you take to restore things back to the way you desire. Got that in your mind now? Ok, let’s move forward…

Do we seek peace in the same manner? Am I as determined to pursue and find peace with all people at all times as much as I am in finding a misplaced tool? Do I have an invested, personal interest in tracking down and holding onto peace as I am finding a misplaced item in our home? One of the reasons I don’t is because it takes work on my part. According to God’s word, I am responsible to be at peace with all people, for the main purpose of producing the righteousness of God that all people may see Him in me and through my actions. That doesn’t happen when I’m not working to produce righteousness and constantly looking for peace. If we’re honest, too often we’re willing to sacrifice peace at the cost of our testimony, Christ’s name. We’re more concerned about being right than we are being righteous.

Missionary Gregg Turnbull said, “People who have Great Peace must have made peace with God.” Rom. 5:1 and Philippians 4:7 affirm that statement. So, are you willing Christian, to run that race with endurance in searching hard after peace no matter the cost? Are we willing to work for righteousness to produce peace that other people may see our good works and glorify our Father Who is in heaven(Matt. 5:16)? Are we willing to take on the God given responsibility to live peaceably with all men? If we’re not, that’s a good sign there’s something out of place in our hearts that needs to be found and put back in order.

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