Do you see the sun rising on a peaceful place?

 

 

 

Pursuing peace… a lot of times when I think of peace, I think of being overcome with this feeling. One that is calming, soothing and one that I wait for. Then I read this…

 

Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good,
he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 1 Peter 3: 10-12

A peacemaker is energetic, influencing the people around them by beaming forth the glowing light of peace, and love… joy… goodness… kindness… gentleness… and self-control… yep, the Fruit!

Merriam-Webster.com defines peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet, as either freedom from civil disturbance, or a state of security within our community, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.” It also mentions harmony in personal relations, a topic that we’ve touched on previously here, keeping harmony, morality and humility in the same sentence.

How does one assume this active peacemaker role? We can look to Jesus as a role model…

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace“ (Isaiah 9:6).

Jesus was the ultimate leader who’s example of peace is based on truth, justice and love for all (Click to Tweet).  Check out how He earned the name The Prince Of Peace:

  • Jesus gave us peace through anticipation, by being proactive.

OK, so Jesus knew what was coming… that he would face certain death on a cross. That certainly must have sucked, in a way, right!

Jesus said to His disciples in His last dialogue with them before his crucifixion, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27

He taught us to find the right words / actions, the ones that will bring peace to our challenging situations in life. It may start with a handshake, a cordial greeting, or even a smile. Jesus gave us the ultimate reassurance… the comforting words that we needed to fill our hearts with peace.

  • Another key that Jesus taught was using positive reinforcement / follow up.

Jesus was gone shortly after those words mentioned above and recorded in John Chapter 14. He gave it all for you, me and the rest of us. To say the disciples were somewhat distraught would be an understatement. Check out what happened next though…

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:19-21

OK, so the disciples were flipping out… and along comes Jesus with the follow up, the words they needed to keep on keeping on. Then He gave us something else that we really needed too: The Holy Spirit.

Enough said…

On to the next. Think of this as a closed loop… the process or flow is continual… and peaceful.

The Q: How can you use this example from the Prince of Peace in your world today?

Image courtesy of xedos4 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net