Focus: Peace
Colossians 3:15 (NKJV) And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
There are a lot of things I’d like to see different in the world. It’s troubling to know that crime is commonplace. It’s hard to see liberalism on the rise…while many conservative people have become calloused and complacent about principles our grandparents would have fiercely defended. What has happened to us?
It can be hard to have a positive outlook, when you view the unrest. It’s natural to want peace and wish that everyone could just get along.
Something that bothers me almost more than the secular society, is the seeming lack of interest on the part of so many Christians, to remember what the Word of God says about the last days and how we should behave—and just get on our knees.
Humans have a strong sense of self-preservation; such an automatic tendency toward self-defense. Some view the events going on in the middle-east and are quick to criticize the actions of the Israelis. I wonder how willingly they would walk away, if the ownership of land that was supposed to be theirs, was being questioned…
Without getting into a big debate, I’d like to spend a little time thinking about peace. Peace means different things to different people. Peace might be getting through a day without arguing with anyone, as much as it might mean a cease fire on war-torn foreign soil.
You might not realize it, but there are ways to control peace. You may not be able to do anything about missiles being launched or bombs going off, but you can have peace in your own heart, in spite of the circumstances in our world.
The Bible compares the events of the end times to the birth pangs of an expectant mother, when she is in labor and about to give birth. Any pregnant woman in her final month of pregnancy is only concerned with one thing. She just wants to have that baby. You can try to talk about any topic you choose with that woman, and the conversation will always find its way back to pregnancy and childbirth. This is perfectly normal. A pregnant woman is focused. She is passionate to see the baby and be done with pregnancy.
I can see the parallels about the birth pangs. The intensity of world crisis is increasing and catastrophic events are getting closer together. Yet saying ‘PEACE!’ would be like a woman in childbirth saying—‘Okay, let’s stop the labor. I think I just want to stay pregnant and not have this baby.’
If the end times can truly be compared to childbirth—then we should be saying, ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ and be focused on our part in the management and cooperation of the advancement of the birthing process.
When I went through birthing classes, we were told to have an object that we focused on when the labor became increasingly hard. We were instructed to breathe in certain ways and we were given various recommendations as to what kind of posture would help, and so on.
Jesus is really coming. The time is getting closer. The struggle is going to continue intensifying. It seems like a bad thing—but it’s really a good thing, when you realize this is the Word of God coming to pass in our lifetime.
Shortly before the baby is born, a pregnant mother goes through the period known as ‘transition’ in the birthing process. It’s a time when she might be apt to become critical of anyone around her. She might find it hard to listen to advice from a birthing coach, but at that time—she really needs to work hard at cooperating with her body—and her coach, to bring forth her child. At that time, it’s vital for her to stay as calm as possible.
World peace is a dream we can wish for…but whether we see world peace or not, we can stay calm and cultivate the ability of allowing the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts. While we can be so critical of our leaders and the way things seem to be going in the world—we could be working on cooperating with the body of Christ and our fellow believers right here at home—building unity and peace in whatever way we can, to advance the kingdom of God.
Declaration: I will find new strength by getting a grip on where we really are in the process of Christ coming again. I will stop being critical and start embracing the birth process by staying calm and having the peace of Christ in my heart.
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