Make Peace
What do you think of when you hear the word peace? I honestly thought of the standard answer we give when asked, 'If you had 3 wishes what would you wish for?' World peace is our number one wish of course.
'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.' John 14:27 'My peace I give to you'
Jesus said these words to the disciples right before he was betrayed, arrested, tortured, and hung on a cross to die. He knew this was going to happen. He knew how his disciples were going to react with fear and doubt and worry. He knew the hearts of the people who were threatened by him and yet he gives his disciples peace.
'I do not give as the world gives'
We all hope for peace in the world. We imagine a place where people don't use violence and hatred to solve problems, but we have been given the gift of free will, of choice, the opportunity to choose between light and dark, good and evil, and there are too many who choose evil.
Jesus knew this. He knows we can't choose the behavior of others so we have to find peace in different ways. Not only do we need to find peace we need to make it.
Here are some ways to make peace in the chaos: Let go. Let go of the small things- there are things that we carry around that are not ours to carry anymore Forgive. Forgiveness doesn’t mean trust. We forgive to release pain from our heart. Remember to forgive yourself as well as others Be kind, especially when it's hard Be merciful. Take time to stand in someone else’s shoes Speak love. It is so much healthier than hate Speak justice. There are a lot of people considered less than. Speak for them.
Have the hard conversations. We can keep peace by avoiding the hard stuff, but we will never have real peace until we hash out the hard stuff.
I have been so inspired over the last several years by a person named Maia Mikhaluk. She and her family are still living in Kyiv, Ukraine. She posts every day on social media about what her country is experiencing. Her words are raw and emotional, but she also shares where she finds God’s peace. Spending time with her family, her granddaughter, worshiping with her church, and helping others who are more impacted by the violence than she is, are all ways she continues to hold onto hope during war. She cannot stop the daily ugliness and evil of the attacks on her country, but she can find and make peaceful moments in the midst of it.
We cannot change the ugliness that surrounds us in our politics, social media, illnesses, in our workplaces, in our families, and even in our churches, but we can find and make peaceful moments in the midst of what the world gives.
This is the peace of Jesus that is given every day.
Becky & Don Long
Pastor Don is the Senior Pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1212 Calhoun St., Macomb, IL 61455
