Living Beyond Yourself- Session 5 -Peace

Galatians 5:22..."But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...


When I thought about this session, the image of a smooth, glassy sea came into my mind. A shiny serenity, something like the picture above.

Therefore, I was taken aback at the content of last night's session, surprised at what encompasses peace. Have you heard the phrase "peace rules"? Peace is aligned with authority. In Isaiah 9:6-7, we see that the increase of peace is directly proportional to the increase of Christ's government. Peace is the result of Christ's applied authority.

That makes sense, does it not? Just look at how society runs. Without submission to the governing rules, there would be anarchy, chaos, no peace. Colossians 3:15 says,"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." It follows then that without submission to Christ's authority in my life, peace is not possible. My every day life is pervaded with a nagging disquiet inside that I cannot shut off. Our natural sinful nature actually resists peace all day long. I cannot conjure up peace. Like love and joy, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in me.

Beth talks about what peace is not. It is not about peace keeping. A peace keeper attempts to keep peace at any cost. This kind of peace is marked by its false nature. Jeremiah 8:11 says,"They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious, "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace."
What does that bring to mind for you? Think about certain family reunions. For many people, it is one of the most stressful events, simply because a 'false' peace exists to cover the 'dirt' that no one dares talk about. Sinful generational patterns are perpetuated because of 'peacekeepers' who do not want to deal with sin.

Beth goes on to discuss a peace maker. Peace making involves discipline. Hebrews 12:11 says "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
She categorized the opponents of peacemaking into 2 groups:
1. The keepers of false peace: motivated by fear and distrust.
They try to keep everything together using enormous amounts of energy to push down and deny the toxic undercurrents that need to be dealt with.
2. The lovers of contention: motivated by misery, power and lack of discipline.
They are the kind of people who refuse to grant forgiveness so that they keep the other person in turmoil. It is a child who is not disciplined and who grows up to be a contentious adult.

Let us look to Christ to create in us that wellspring that brings true peace. Peace came through the Cross. We cannot have the peace of God until we have made peace with God through the Cross of Christ.
If you are reading this post today and your life is in turmoil, I invite you to invite Him into your heart. Ephesians 2:14-16 (NLT) says,

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

May you experience the peace that passes all understanding as you submit to His authority.

~Love, Sita~