Wednesday, January 16, 2008

PEACE - GO AFTER IT!

ATTENTION: To all the writers and closet writers (I know who you are), this one’s for you. I’m soliciting your insightful, creative and mind-blowing comments.

Doing a quick word search on "pursue peace" at http://www.biblegateway.com turned up three verses in the Amplified version:

Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!”

2 Timothy 2:22 Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness (all that is virtuous and good, right living, conformity to the will of God in thought, word, and deed); [and aim at and pursue] faith, love, [and] peace (harmony and concord with others) in fellowship with all [Christians], who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.

1 Peter 3:11 Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]

What does “pursue peace” mean to you? How do you do that? Explain.

1 comment:

Chris Williams said...

To me peace is much more than absence of conflict; it is a sense of wholeness, completeness, and well-being. This connects more closely with the Hebrew idea of "shalom." To be pursue peace in any situation is to pursue the best for that situation. To pursue peace with people is to go after the best for them.

An example...pursuing peace in marraige. If I take the approach that peace is about no conflict, I might not say what I think or raise an issue that needs to be addressed or stand up for a conviction because I want to keep the peace. But if I want to pursue true wholeness and well-being in our marriage than I will have to be truthful, I will have to confront issues that might be hurting us, I will have to say what's on my heart. In this case, true peace may require a good argument to get to tomorrow's best hidden on the other side of today's okay.

Pursuing peace requires humility, honesty, vulnerability, authenticity, and determination. Just some of my thoughts...

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