Colossians 3:15

Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

The world is full of conflict. Whether you look at international relations, national politics or even the life of your local community, conflict is never far away – but that isn’t what God wants for us. He has made it possible for us to live at peace through Christ. Paul speaks about Christ acting like an umpire who oversees our lives and continually works to ensure that peace occurs. However, the first word of that sentence is the crucial one – ‘Let’. Peace won’t just happen. We have to give our ‘yes’ to the peace of Christ. We need to welcome him into the centre of our lives and allow him to bring his peace to every situation that we face.

Peace is our calling as part of the body of Christ, the Church. We cannot sit idly by when we see strained relationships within the Church. As in every other human community, people fall out with one another, and this should disappoint us but never surprise us. Our calling is to live so close to Christ that we will be continually looking for ways to resolve tensions and to promote warm and trusting relationships. This is often extremely hard work, but the outcome is well worth the effort.

Paul often encourages his readers to be thankful, usually towards God. Here, he speaks more generally of the need for thankfulness. We certainly always need to be thankful to God, but an attitude of thankfulness towards others will create an atmosphere of peace. When we are grateful to those around us for who they are and what they have done, it will strengthen relationships and promote peace.

Living at peace is the most desirable way to live. Everyone will agree with that. We need to not only worship Jesus, the umpire, but to [itals]let[end itals] him take control.

Question

In what specific situations do you need to work for peace at the moment?

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for sending Jesus to give us peace. Help me to welcome his peace today and to share it generously with others. Amen