It happened again. As I was scribing in my Journible, the Holy Spirit placed a sticky note on my heart with Hebrews 12:14 on it. Why this verse? I have no clue, but it is obviously one He desires for me to meditate on and live by. Here it is from two translations of the Scriptures:
Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. (NLT)
Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. (MSG)
I’m convinced that there has never been a more apropos time in history for the wisdom of this verse to settle into our hearts. At first blush, the verse seems to be riddled with contradiction. Live at peace. Live a holy life. As the recent dust-up over the comments made by Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame show, it is quite difficult to live a holy life—guided by the Bible—and live at peace with everyone.
Holiness is difficult because it runs counter to popular culture and thought. Holiness requires that Christians think, look, act, and speak differently than the world. It means we are set apart for special use…for God’s purposes, which are usually not considered important or valuable by society. Consequently, the world may consider us weird, phobic, holier-than-thou, or stupid.
Living at peace with everyone. That’s a pretty tall order if you use the world’s definition of peace, which typically means the absence of conflict. Consider the definition of the Greek word transliterated peace: peace (literal or figurative); by implication prosperity; one, peace, quietness, rest, set at one again.
Notice nothing is mentioned about the absence of conflict. The kind of peace the author of Hebrews is speaking of is a quietness of soul that is not dependent on outward circumstance. The only way to attain that kind of peace is to be at one with Jesus Christ, walking in His ways and seeking His heart in every circumstance.
If you and I live in peace and walk in holiness we will look a lot like Jesus. Does that mean the world will love you and accept you? Absolutely not. The world didn’t accept Jesus. Jesus was not afraid to call out sin in the life of a person, yet He never demeaned or demoralized the sinner. (Sinner—in case you forgot, that’s you and me.) As representatives of Jesus Christ, we must never compromise our holiness for the sake of acceptance by society. Yet, we must move about in society living out the love of Jesus toward others.
Speaking and Walking in Truth (Holiness) + Showing Love (Peace) = Being Jesus to Other People.
MEDITATION MOMENT: How are you doing at living in peace and living a holy life? Which piece of this do you need to work on in your life? Which do you think is more difficult to do?
