Pursue Peace

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Scripture: Hebrews 12:14-15 (NRSV)

14 Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.

Devotion:

            Our world today is filled not with peace but with crime and unrest. The writer of Hebrews urges us to seek peace in this scripture. However, in order to even be motivated to seek real peace we must first know the peace giver, Jesus. All of our attempts to bring peace outside of Jesus are doomed to end in failure. Worldly attempts at peacemaking never end well. There is always the constant threat that strife will break out again at the slightest provocation.

            The situation in Korea is a great example of a man engineered “peace”. It has been more than fifty years since the open conflict ceased on that peninsula. Yet the tension is as high on that boarder as it was fifty years ago. The two parties stand fully ready to fight today as they did when the fighting stopped all those years ago. The peace that is produced by human ingenuity lacks the true sense of peacefulness that only God can provide.

            Peace that comes from God is always accomplished through His holiness. God desires peace in the world He created. However, he knows that sin has done such damage to the human race that peace is all but impossible. That is why the writer of Hebrews urges us to seek the grace of God as a necessary ingredient in our pursuit of peace. We must always operate knowing that no matter how right we think our cause is, it is only by God’s grace that we are able to see the other side of the story and pursue a just and righteous peace

            So, God’s intention for mankind to pursue peace. How hard do we really pursue peace though? Most of us, I dare say, are content to let things be as long as there is no active threat of violence on the horizon. Relaxing in our recliners allows us to peacefully exist with the universe. God, however, sees all the areas of conflict that exist in the world today. God sees all the evil that humans perpetrate all over this globe and he is concerned. Let us pray that God will wake us up from our slumber and sleep to actively pursue peace in our world today.

Prayer:

            Lord open our eyes to see the world as you see it. Help us to be aware of the many crises we see in this world and to be motivated to do something about it. Instruct us how to pursue peace in your world. Let us not be content to go with the flow and not disturb the injustice and violence going on around us each day. Help us to make peace wherever we can. May all we do each day help bring about peace in your world. Amen. 

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