Confession: At church on Sunday we had a children’s program in lieu of our regular service, so I don’t know what week of Advent this is. And according to the four websites I looked at, it could either be hope (I definitely already did that last week), love, joy, or peace. Seriously. Does Jesus Himself know what we celebrate this week? (#thanksfornothinginternet)
I’m feeling (so in need of) peace today, so I guess I’ll go with that one. According to me and a quarter of the Advent websites out there, in the second week of Advent we celebrate and remember that Jesus came to bring peace. Last week He came to bring hope, and when we have hope in God and in our place in eternity, we can enjoy peace no matter the circumstance.
I used to think of peace as something that’s passive, like being without anything bad, like trouble or fear. But the Biblical definition of peace is more aggressive. I think peace in the Bible is choosing stillness in the midst the craziness. When we live in peace, we don’t make decisions based on fear or the troubles around us.
Admittedly I feel a little helpless when it comes to conflict on the other side of the world, in a different country, another state, or even the next town over. So often it’s easy to pass the buck about alleviating turmoil elsewhere because frankly it’s really stinking far away.
But what I miss so often is my ability to bring peace to my context. God’s not calling me to go elsewhere; He put me where I am for a reason. I’m called to be an agent of peace to this tiny corner of the earth in the great state of Missouri. To this little town that was farm land and dirt roads just 30 years ago.
Our house sits where crops once grew. Instead of the land growing food for the body, on the land I can foster food for the soul.
Photo credit: Cassi Werner
I can only foster what I have experienced, so if I don’t have peace in me, I have no chance of spreading it.
This is me and this is you. And this is everyone, too. We are mist that is here one instant and gone an instant later. Friends, this life is beautiful and glorious, but one thing it is not is long. No do-overs. No second chances to bring peace. Once the day is done, it’s done. This is your one holy shot. Photo credit: Cassi Werner
James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
I didn’t see how fleeting life was until I saw others live their lives knowing that tomorrow isn’t promised. Friends, we need to get moving on bringing peace, because one day we will see our Creator and He will ask how well we loved His sheep. We are accountable.
We are either agents of peace or agents of unrest. If I live in the in-between area, I am an agent of unrest. My words are a salve or sandpaper to the soul.
This life is too short to live it trying to serve myself. You and I weren’t created to serve ourselves and grow our own empires. My empire would probably be pretty sucky anyway. Composed of a lot of yoga pants, kitchen gadgets I found on clearance, and books that I started to read but never finished. There’s no chance of lasting peace when we do this, and we certainly won’t outlive ourselves. But since my life is a vanishing vapor, the only hope I have at bringing true peace is to align myself with what God’s will is.
Photo Credit: Eastlyn Bright
James 4: 15 Instead you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
When I moved to Missouri, I fell victim to waiting for the answer to the million dollar question: What is God’s will for my life? Maybe I called my laziness and self-pity mere “searching” and “waiting,” after all, I just couldn’t figure out what He wanted me to do. So as I waited for His answer I slept and did crossword puzzles and walked around Home Goods. And I was miserable. I wandered and felt empty.
The God who was born in a manger and who lived humbly as a servant didn’t offer His life so I could be self-serving with my time, talent, and treasures.
But surely God wanted me to do something awesome and exciting! Ha. The truth is God wants us to be something before he wants us to do something. The answer to the million dollar question was so unglorious. So humbling. So lowly. God’s will for my life and God’s will for your life is to bring love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as we serve the poor, widowed, outcast,sick, and orphaned. As I do these things, I bring the Prince of Peace into the midst. And that is God’s will. And it could look a million different ways on any given day for any one of us.
I bring peace when I look at the people in my context and find ways to bring them up, not put them down. I bring peace when my words elevate the depressed, lonely, helpless. I bring peace when I help the helpless instead of talking about the helpless when they aren’t around.
I could ask, “What’s wrong with her?” or I could look at her situation and ask, “How can I begin to meet her needs?”
Her needs for friendship, help, healing, strength, purpose, safety.
This is God’s will for my life. Practice patience and kindness with the difficult. Because I’m pretty sure I get zero Kingdom Points when I love those who are easy to love and when I serve the people who already have everything. Photo Credit: Cassi Werner
James 4:16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
But humility isn’t one of those traits that is sought after in American culture. No one says, “I just love being around her because she practices such humility.” No, we look at the clothes, homes, and attitudes and think that bigger and flashier is more attractive. But it’s the humble who bring peace, not those who boast and brag and see themselves as better than they really are.
Friend, I boast when I forget that I am vapor. When I brag I put myself above others; instead of bringing peace I bring insecurity.
James 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it sins.
This verse cuts a little too deep for me. James lets no one off the hook when he speaks of what sin is. No longer can I just look at sin in terms of the ten commandments. Sin is being able to fill a need and not filling it. It’s being aware that someone is in need and looking the other way. It’s putting your needs above another person’s needs. It’s seeing a need for community, love, healing, forgiveness, friendship, or food and not filling it.
This is the good we ought to do: bring peace. If someone has ever extended peace to you, you are on the hook. It’s your responsibility.
I don’t think people can’t effectively spread peace if they’ve never been offered it. I believe our ability to care for others is directly dependent upon how well we’ve been cared for. Our ability to be a friend to others is directly related to how well someone has been a friend to us.
I bring peace when I am for communion over communication and when I fight to preserve the relationship, not fight to be heard.
As Christians, we should be seen as the most peaceful, and this doesn’t mean that I don’t like wars or guns or violence. This means that within me, there is a still pool instead of a raging inferno.
Part of getting ready for the coming King is getting ready for what He brings. He brings peace and may we be known by the peace we bring also.