Last week we talked about humility
and concluded with the reason why this is so important. We read, Philippians
2:14-15 … Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may
be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a
crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the
world. So, it is important to have humility so that we might “shine
like stars” in the midst of a “crooked and perverse generation”. But humility
is of course not the only quality that shines out through the darkness.
Another way we can “shine like
stars” is to live in a peaceful way. This is referred to in these verses as
follows: Do all things without murmuring and arguing. Now who of us
doesn’t do a little bit of murmuring under their breath, and some arguing, even
if it is restrained or contained?! Well, its natural and its human!! I think
that these words of Paul are fundamentally directed toward our interpersonal
relationships, our basic lifestyle attitudes and behaviour, and how we react
when things don’t go our way. People without a divine God-like reference point
in their lives react one way, but those with Jesus as their Lord should react
in a different, more beneficial, way.
In Ephesians 4:26, written
sometime later, reads: Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down
on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. This text acknowledges
the human propensity toward anger, but warns against letting it [anger] have
its way. It also points out the major problem that is unleashed if anger is not
controlled. Along the same line, Jesus suggests that anger is the route that
leads to murder and therefore is under judgement (Matthew 5:21-22). The
antidote to such feelings of anger, as we shall consider more later, is a
determination toward reconciliation with any estranged brother or sister or
neighbour.
Our reading from Philippians 4:4-9
includes various attributes of the Jesus-follower, which might all be a part of
living a peaceful life, i.e. joy, gentleness, lack of worry, and prayer
combined with thankfulness. There are also ideas here that the person living in
peace will have a good thought life: these people will think primarily about
what is true, honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and
worthy of praise. Thinking like this, of course, leads to acting in line with
such thought processes … our actions following our inner attitudes and
motivations. Then, also, the person of peace will follow good examples; like
Paul, and Jesus, and others you could think of yourself who have taught you
well and provided a good example to follow. Living in peace encapsulates all of
these great attributes listed in this passage.
But all of this starts not in just
trying to improve ourselves in our own efforts, for Paul uses the term “peace
with God”. True peaceful living starts with gaining such a peace with God that
other levels of peace then become possible. How do we ultimately gain peace
with God?? By accepting God’s gift of grace and his offer of forgiveness. Then
we no more feel that we have to make things up to God, or that we will never be
good or clean enough to be happy in life. God’s forgiveness means that we are
no longer captive to guilt, or even worse, to shame. Guilt says, we have done
wrong. Shame says, we are wrong (or, defective). God says,
through his grace, expressed ultimately by Jesus on the cross (taking our guilt
and shame upon himself), that God will set us free from all this … and that
ultimately we can live in a state of peace.
This leads to being at peace
within ourselves. Thomas Kelly, the Quaker philosopher, said that inside each
person there should be a quiet centre that nothing can disturb – well that’s
certainly something to aspire to!! The Christian mystics talked about the
throne of God existing in the innermost part of our heart … yeah! … which no
storm nor temptation could disturb! Okay, peace with God leads to peace within
ourselves … and what else??? Peace with other people!
Whereas we might have had problems
in our relationships with other people around us, because ultimately of how we
have felt about ourselves, that is no longer the case! We can now become
reconciled with people more easily. The forgiveness we have received makes it
easier for us to forgive – well it better!! Feeling better about ourselves
makes us more harmonious people. Paul also famously wrote to the Roman church
these words (12:18) … if it is possible, so far as it depends upon you, live
peaceably with all. Or as NLT translates, to take away any feelings of
non-responsibility: Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
What else happens, when the peace
we have with God has led to peace within, and then in turn peace with our
family and neighbours?? We become less satisfied with any lack of peace, or if
you like, more dissatisfied with conflict! There is the wise saying: “May the
peace of Christ disturb us all”! We are not just receivers of the gift of peace,
but also under the calling to be peacemakers. Jesus stated that one of the
attitudes of a follower of his went like this … Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they [and only they] will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). But
this takes us into difficult and heady areas. John Dickson and Greg Clarke
share a helpful conversation (in the "Life of Jesus" DVD series) about where our responsibilities lay in the
complexity of this. Various world conflicts are not all our problem, but are
partly our problem … or shall we say challenge.
Of course, the lack of progress
toward peace in many areas can turn back in on us, so that we feel frustrated,
impotent, angry and anything but peaceful. Prayer is an important tool here, as
well as gaining perspective on what it is that we can personally and corporately
make a positive difference in. And in this – the God of peace will
be with us … guarding our hearts and minds! So now, how would you
describe living at peace with God (in all its facets)???
No comments:
Post a Comment