The Peace of God (4)

Friday, August 7: I want to begin today’s meditation with St. Francis of Assisi:

 

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love.”

 

What would our lives be like, our heart and minds and souls, were we to pray this every day? For then every day this image of being a blessing to others, as Jesus Christ is a blessing to us, would be before our hearts and minds – and by God’s grace, the Holy Spirit would use this image of Jesus Christ, pouring through St. Francis, to transform us into the image of our elder brother, Jesus Christ.

 

If we meditated on this every morning, might we begin to find all hatred and anger and violence and vitriol poison to our souls – and might we begin to experience the peace of Jesus Christ as we learn to share His peace with others through prayer, encouraging words, and actions?

 

When you read Matthew 5:9 consider these questions:

 

Who is the greatest peacemaker who has ever lived? Why?

 

What does peacemaking look like in your life? How are you practicing peacemaking in your thought life, with your words, and with your actions?

 

Please read and ponder Isaiah 9:6 – 7. Consider that the Messiah, the Christ, is not only styled “The Prince of Peace” but that we’re promised that of the increase of peace there will be “no end”.

 

If we are called to peace, if we are called to be peacemakers, and if our Elder Brother is the Prince of Peace, then we can ask ourselves, “What is in our wallet? Is peace in our wallet?” That is, “Is the peace of the Prince of Peace our core identity?”

 

Of course, we’ve got to face the question of whether we really want peace and whether we are willing to pay the price for peace. Jesus Christ wanted peace with us so much that He died for us, absorbing our sin and hideousness. Father God wanted peace with us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. How much do we really want peace? If we want it then it will cost us – we will have to learn to lay down our agendas, we will have to learn to reach out to those with whom we disagree, dislike, don’t understand, and who may very well abuse us. We will have to learn to identify with Jesus Christ (What’s in your wallet?) as our core identity. This means that we will always be in the minority, always.

 

It means that we will have to learn to pray with St. Francis.

 

As we seek peace for others, we will experience the peace of Christ within us – we will, in Christ, become a source of peace for others…more on that later.

 

Is peace in your wallet? Is there a card in your wallet identifying you as a peacemaker in Jesus Christ?