Peace Begins with Me

Distant Peace

Our world today is a world fraught with division. There wars going on in Ukraine, threats of wars between China and Taiwan, and North Korea threatens peace on a weekly basis. We live in a world, closer to WWIII than peace on earth good will toward men.

Yet in the midst of the divisions of war there are times of peace. December 24th, 1914 in the middle of WWI there is what is known as the Christmas Truce. Soldiers laid down their weapons, set aside their differences, left their trenches, and if even just for a day didn’t see the other side as the enemy. British soldiers and German soldiers could be seen, in what was known as no mans land, having cheerful conversation with each other. There are pictures of soldiers playing games together. What made this Christmas day truce possible? Soldiers laying aside their differences and seeing what unites them as human beings. Peace began with one soldier, peace begins with one person. Peace begins with me.

Romans 15 instructs us how we are supposed to live in peace and harmony. It is a call for us to live like Christ despite our differences. It is a call to accept others just as Christ accepted you. The foundation of peace isn’t the removal of conflict, never wrestling with difficult conversations or topics. The foundation of peace as we live in community is Christ. Having the same attitude of Christ is what brings about one mind and one voice with which we glorify God.

Peace Begins With Me

The Roman community like any community of people had disagreements. Paul, a few times in Romans calls them to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Romans 12:16–18 NLT

16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

In Romans 14 Paul is addressing the disagreements over eating food offered to Idols. He opens 14 with

Romans 14:1 NLT

1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.

Chapter 15 then moves into this idea that those who are strong look out for the well-being of those who are weak. The focus isn’t on what is best for me and my relationship with Christ (whether I can eat meat), but on what is good for our neighbors, what builds up the community. This is a high emphasis on submission and selflessness. i) To live in community means looking out for the well-being of others. ii) Living in community at times means putting aside our own desires in order to build up the community. This doesn’t mean everyone agrees. There was clearly a lot of disagreement

Romans 15:6 NLT

6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Even in Our disagreements, the foundation is the same.

The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our LORD! The one mind and one voice are born out of Christlikeness. Christ is the example we live by. As we grow more like Christ God gives us the endurance and encouragement to continue to shine like Christ.

The people are united not because they agree on everything but because they have the same foundation.

Ephesians 4:5 NLT

5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Accepting one another despite our differences doesn’t happen on its own. We do it because that’s how Christ accepted us. As we accept others as Christ accepted us we are being like Christ. Christ accepts us feeble faith and all, therefore we are to accept others feeble faith and all.

Paul draws attention to Jesus servanthood, Jesus glorified God in his service to others. As we live servant lives like Christ we also bring glory to God.

Christ is our firm foundation. To live in harmony and peace with one another is to live like Christ. Romans 15 is a call for us to live like Christ. It’s a call for us this Christmas to continue to grow in Christlikeness. Peace is not the absence of conflict or disagreements.

a) These are harsh words to the church, calling them to something greater. i) He calls out their favoritism and tells them to learn to elevate one another. ii) He calls out their judgmentalism and tells them to embrace everyone. iii) He calls out their exclusionary systems and tells them to look upon others the way Christ looks upon them. b) It would be easy to look at peace in a community as the absence of conflict. i) Paul isn’t avoiding conflict or confrontation because he knows that the way to true peace in community is to confront the things that are keeping the community of faith from looking like Jesus. ii) The way to live in community with one another is not to ignore the issues but to be reminded of who we are called to be like. c) This is not a call to exclusionary practices but a reminder that because you are part of this, this is who we are: like Christ. Paul is reminding the faith community of the mercy and grace Christ showed them that they should be showing one another. d) Where in our community do we need to be confronted with our judgmentalism, favoritism, or exclusionary practices? Where do we need to be reminded of our foundation and identity in Christ? i) When have we ignored conflict for the sake of a false sense of peace, instead of doing the hard work of holiness that asks us to examine our own hearts? Where do we need to submit, be selfless, and surrender to the good of the community? Where do we need to look like servant Jesus? ii) If peace in the community begins with me, where do I need to allow my heart to be transformed, that I might be a person of peace?

Peace amid division

Anywhere there are people there are disagreements, divisions, and different opinions. In our communities we often avoid these topics thinking it will keep peace. Paul lays out a different way for us to live as Christians. He calls us to remember who we are even with our differing opinions. He challenged the Roman community and he challenges us today to be like Christ. He calls us to remember who binds us together. That is Christ.

The shining lived example for me seeing this in action again took place in a war zone. It was Easter Sunday in Baghdad Iraq, a group of Christians, a mix group of catholic and protestant. Many many different denominations, with many deep dividing differences, and yes different opinions, set those aside to with one voice glorify God and loudly proclaim the truth that binds us together.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 NLT

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

We live in days of seemingly extreme division, and it would be a mistake to ignore it. Instead we need to ask, “If peace on earth begins with me, what do I need to change in my life to be a peacemaker?” If God has extended grace and mercy to us, where do we need to extend grace and mercy? This isn’t about a list of things we should and shouldn’t do. This is a call to look at the person of Jesus and at who we are supposed to be in the world—people who are like Christ. So may we examine our hearts and do the hard work of walking through conflict with those who think differently, so that we might find a deep and wide community of faith, a community of peace, a community of Christ with one voice glorifying God.

734 Eternal Life