Journal Entry ~ 10/15/18

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. - Hebrews 12:14

So we are not just to strive for peace with the believers in our lives, or to just the people we love the most, or to just those who seem to need our help - this verse calls us to strive for peace with everyone. Everyone means everyone. Everyone includes the gossiping co-worker, everyone includes that annoying customer service person, everyone includes the person opposing my political views, everyone even includes the opposing politician, everyone includes people with different religious beliefs, everyone even includes those that would seek to do me harm, everyone includes the gay couple living down the street, everyone includes that difficult person in my life I prefer to avoid, everyone even includes my enemies. Everyone includes everyone. 

God would have me exclude no one from this list of people I am to strive for peace with - He commands me to be at peace with everyone. And as I mentioned before, striving for peace is not just avoiding that person or not speaking poorly about them, striving for peace is actively working for the benefit of that person. That’s difficult in this broken world. It would be so much easier to just walk away. 

I imagine our Father in heaven looks down at our conflict much the same as we look at our children quarreling. Few things bother a mother’s ’s heart more than when her children are quarreling or throwing nasty insults at each other.  Most of us would not only rather see our children at peace with each other, but supporting and encouraging one another in life. It must grieve God to see the way we fight with one another, the way we don’t forgive to one another, they way we don’t love one another. He created us in the image of Him, and His desire for His children is that each of us would come to know the glory of God. When we fail at peace, we fail at His one desire. 

This convicting verse once again has me realizing how much I truly have to repent for in my life. Thankful for the mercy and grace of our loving Father in heaven, who never fails to love everyone. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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