PEACE AS A GAOL
Friday,
September 08, 2017
Philippians [ESV] 4:4-8 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
1Peter 5:5-7 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt
you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Peace is an excellent thing to recognize, desire,
and apprehend. God wants us to have personal peace and provides how we may have
it. (Jn.14:27; 16:33)
But let us beware of making peace a paramount
goal centered in self. For in focusing on personal serenity we make peace a *gaol
barring us from that which is of far greater value than peace for itself; centering
on peace and serenity being more for and about myself rather than serving God
and my fellows.
Indeed it is a good thing to cast all our
worries and anxieties upon The Omnipotent One that cares for us above all
others, gaining His peace, God’s perfect love able to cast out our fears that
bind us in unreasonableness. (1John, chapter 4) But we must beware of seeing
peace as the place of service. Personal peace is undistracted place to serve
from. (Jn.7:38; Phil.4:4-8) Personal peace of itself is a godly testimony
before the maddening crowd.
Let us seek true peace in and through God,
but not for personal gain and maintenance of “my tranquility”, but instead exceptionally
with the understanding and desire for a wonderfully resultant guarded heart and
mind; something that cannot be realized living with and in fearful anxiety or immaturely
centering on personal peace. (Rom.12:1-3)
EBB4
*British for
“jail”.
No comments:
Post a Comment