Original Entry:
September 13, 2011
McMinnville, OR
Too long have I lived among those who hate
peace. I am a man of peace; but when I
speak, they are for war. Psalm 120:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
In the summer of 2009
I left on my first sabbatical in 20 years.
Burnt out, beat up and broken I was questioning things about my faith I
knew were not true. While staying at a
friend’s on the island
of Lanai I read a book by
Gary Thomas called Authentic Faith
and was confronted with my problem.
To make a long story
short, I recommitted my life to Christ on the backyard lawn. My weary state was the result of a complaining
spirit. My complaining had destroyed my peace of mind. The opposite of peace is war. I was compelled
to wonder, “Besides God, who else am I at war with?”
I knew I had been at
war with God as well as several others.
On that lawn overlooking a golf course I repented, and surrendered my
life to Jesus. From that epiphany I have
come to realize that the life that lacks peace is the life at war.
To be ‘a man of
peace’ is to be a man in right relationship with God and others. The life that is not at peace with God will
declare war on others. The unregenerate
man must repent of sin and give his life to Jesus so that, as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), he will discover
the words of Jesus, “My peace I leave
you...”
Similarly, the godly
man must repent of anxieties that ultimately bring war upon those closest to
him. The godly man who lacks peace will
eventually rain wrath upon those closest to him.
Jesus said it best when
a man declares war on those around him, “Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
