Peacemaking - wouldn't it be nice to live in a world of peace makers? Well, we don't. We live in a world of feuders. And it is not a 21st century thing. From Cain and Abel on, civilizations rise and fall because of fighting. Most people on the planet want peace. "Dude, seriously, I just saw a VW van plastered with peace signs run over a stray cat." Ok, not funny. But the point is, we want everyone to get along. Stop the fighting already. It is not accomplishing anything.
The peace that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5 is not just getting along. It is internal peace. The kind that you can have only when you are not holding any grudges or bitterness. And the desire to see peace in every relationship and in every situation becomes a constant passion. Blessed are those who bring peace.
Somebody reading this will wish that I stopped right here, but I have to take it another step, maybe a leap for some.
Peace can only happen in my relationships if it first happens between me and God. There is a war, a spiritual war, that rages for the souls of mankind. The root cause of this war is personal sin. A holy God must punish those who fail His standard and we all fall far short of that. This same God also loves us and has provided an a substitute to stand in our place, to take the punishment we deserve. When we accept this generous offer, there is peace, ultimate peace.
The war is over, live like it!
Monday, May 3, 2010
#6 - pure of heart
Pure is a difficult concept in our world. We can get fresh, organic, or shiny new, but still contaminated. My orange juice says it is pure. The chocolate bar says "pure" right on the package. But I saw the 20/20 special when they stick that candy bar under the microscope they find all sorts of "contaminants" in there. Gross! I'm gonna lose my appetite just thinking about it.
Let's move to a more palatable example, eyeglasses. I don't wear my glasses very often and when I do I clean them every time. It drives me nuts to have smears and spots. But I have seen people who wear glasses every waking moment and they are so dirty, I can't imagine that they can see anything! The contaminants on the lens hinder clear vision.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.
When contaminants are allowed into my life, my view of God gets cloudy. When my motives are selfish, I am not like Jesus. When my music, movie, tv, book selection is less then sanctified, I invite contaminants. When I lose my temper, fail to forgive, hold a grudge, or speak a harsh word, my view of God is not clear.
If my view of God is clear, then my heart will be more pure. As my heart becomes more pure, my view of God is clearer. From my clearer view of God, I desire to clean up my heart even a little more. And that my friends is the process, call it sanctification if you want, whereby I become all that God wants me to be.
p.s. not even sure that "whereby" is properly used in that last sentence, but it sounded cool.
Let's move to a more palatable example, eyeglasses. I don't wear my glasses very often and when I do I clean them every time. It drives me nuts to have smears and spots. But I have seen people who wear glasses every waking moment and they are so dirty, I can't imagine that they can see anything! The contaminants on the lens hinder clear vision.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.
When contaminants are allowed into my life, my view of God gets cloudy. When my motives are selfish, I am not like Jesus. When my music, movie, tv, book selection is less then sanctified, I invite contaminants. When I lose my temper, fail to forgive, hold a grudge, or speak a harsh word, my view of God is not clear.
If my view of God is clear, then my heart will be more pure. As my heart becomes more pure, my view of God is clearer. From my clearer view of God, I desire to clean up my heart even a little more. And that my friends is the process, call it sanctification if you want, whereby I become all that God wants me to be.
p.s. not even sure that "whereby" is properly used in that last sentence, but it sounded cool.
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