'Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one can see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrew 12:14-15)
Are you holding a grudge against someone? Have you let your dislike of someone grow seeds of bitter discord among others? Have you made an attempt to right the wrong? What does it mean to be holy? Can the believer truly live in peace with all mankind? The scripture above tells us to live in peace with all men and to be holy. But what does this really mean? Growing up I heard so many misinterpretations of what it means to be holy. In most cases I heard it defined as 'being perfect'. Totally incorrect. To be holy means to be set apart. As a Christian you are to be set apart for the work of Lord. I have often wondered why God chose to have the writer of Hebrews to combine this two thing. After living a while and being exposed to many different things in life, I came to the conclusion that in order to live in peace with all men you must be holy. The devil comes to steal, kill and to destroy and one thing that I have learned is that he will use anything to distract your mind from serving the Lord. What better way than to shift your focus. To shift your focus to people. Whether it is your husband, wife, sister, brother, or closest friend. In fact from my experience, it is often the ones closest to you that cause the biggest distraction. If Satan can get you distracted by sowing seeds of discord among you and your spouse. If he can cause discord between family through the death of a loved one and the fighting over a will. If he can cause one small seed of gossip to be spread among a group of friends.All these things can cause you not to live in peace here on earth. However, when you are set apart and you allow God to control your life then instead of you feeding into the lies of the devil, you are set apart. You forgive your spouse for any wrongdoing. You squash the gossip that has been started in your circle of friends. You are the lone rational voice in a grieving family.
The only God that people will see is the God that lives in you. How you live your life on a daily basis is important to the building up of the kingdom of God. Believe it or not from the moment you confess to be a child of God people start watching you. They look to find anything to discredit you and more importantly to discredit God. Just like the Pharisees and Sadducees. That one time when you let your guard down, you forget to pray, giving God total control of your life, someone catches you slipping. The bad part about this is that your one bad day may cause a bitter root to grow up in someone else and do more damage than you intended. I stated in the beginning that we are not perfect but God has given us the necessary tools to live our lives to give Him glory. When we give Him glory our lives provide life to those around us. Instead of tearing down, we build up. Instead of holding a grudge, we forgive. Our lives are a resting place for the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). We are always aware of our surroundings. We don't hinder babes in Christ by behaviors that are not becoming of a child of God. Oh how I would love it if the Word was all about 'What's In It For Me?' But it's not. Yes the Bible does hold many promises. But it also holds standards for me to live by. With that being said and to answer the question asked at the beginning, 'Yes it is possible to be at peace with all mankind and to be holy. It is only possible through the power of God'
Most Gracious Heavenly Father,
I come to You today with a bowed head and a humble heart giving You praise just for who You are. I stop right now with the realization that if it had not been for You on my side where would I be. I ask for forgiveness of my many sins committed in word, thought or deed. I come to You today with a simple request. I need help with this living at peace with everyone. Lord I don't want to ever be a hindrance or stumbling block to anyone. Help me to grow in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that I can only be set apart as I come to know You better. On my own, this may be an impossible task. But with You I know that anything is possible. Thank you for answering my prayer. In Jesus' Wonderful Name I pray Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment