“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. “ – Colossians 3:15 (ESV)
Internal peace leads to external unity. When our hearts are right, we are in a much better position to get along with the world around us. Perhaps an example would help communicate the point. It is 2:00pm. So right now at home a two-year-old boy is hopefully sleeping. The power that this short time of rest has on our beloved toddler can not be overstated. When he has this mommy-prescribed rest, he wakes up centered, calm, and content with the world around him. If he doesn’t get this rest or is awakened too early, all hope for self-restraint is virtually lost. Can you relate?
If it isn’t obvious, the moral of the story is that naps make the world a more tolerable place. As a matter of fact, I’m so certain of this point that I’d like to propose that we take our point a step further. So I encourage you, right this moment if you can, to stop what you’re doing and set your alarm for ten minutes from now. Close your eyes and just see how you feel when you wake up. If “power naps” work for you, you will feel refreshed and ready to take on the rest of your day. If “power naps” don’t work for you, you will be a cranky mess for having been woken out of your sleep. Either way, the illustration will suffice to teach us that inward peace and rest affects our attitude towards the world and the people around us. When we carry this point over to the spiritual realm, it makes sense that the peace of Christ in us will result in a stronger unity among us in the body we’ve been called into (Col 3:15).
And this my friends is essentially the point we will be learning this coming Sunday as we study Exodus 18 together. Take some time to read the story and consider the unity and peace that the Lord allows Moses to have in his family (especially with his father-in-law Jethro) and how that unity and peace extended over into the eternal family of God. Once you’ve read the text, take some time to pray for peace and unity in our earthly and eternal families!
I can’t wait for Sunday! I am still fired up from last week and have been longing to be back together with you.
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Loved & sent with you,
Pastor Jerry