A Peacemakers Path
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Sticking our heads in the sand
Sticking our heads in the sand
One of the well known comments regarding the Ostrich, a large flightless bird with a long neck, is the thought of it sticking its head in the sand. Why would such a large animal do such a thing? Many have thought that by doing so, the ostrich was hiding itself from predators. Obviously if they could not see the predators they were hidden from them.
Being able to address a problem head on at times is much better than believing it will go away on its own. There is also the path of reconciliation through another.
Overcoming Tension Daily
Overcoming Tension Daily
For many of us, preventing tension in our lives overcomes all else. I know for myself that early on addressing issues was one of the hardest traits I had to learn. However, there are no problems in life that will be overcome without addressing the problem head on.
Many of us would rather put it in God’s hands to have Him handle the issue rather than learn through the process of understanding the tension and anxiety can be a driving force to overcome our issues.
Peacemakers’ definition of tension is simple: being stretched or strained. Tension is a motivating factor for change— in an array of arenas. Consider the earth. Beautiful mountains were formed by compressional tension. Large gaps in the earth’s surface, like the Grand Canyon, were formed by the tension created by water. Amazing, huh? Tension can result in beauty. But, of course, tension can also result in destruction. Tension in the earth causes earthquakes. Closer to home for me, tension led to the volcanic eruption of Mount Saint Helens.
Noble, P. Brian. The Path of a Peacemaker : Your Biblical Guide to Healthy Relationships, Conflict Resolution, and a Life of Peace, Baker Books, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5770763.
Created from liberty on 2022-04-24 11:13:34.
God Desires Peace
God Desires Peace
Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.
Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now;
I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies;
for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”
Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’
I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.
“Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
“For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’ ”
So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau:
two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.”
He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’ ”
Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;
and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
Where are you hiding your head?
Where are you hiding your head?
Jacob was hiding in the house of his uncle, Laban, for many years. However, there came the day when God nudged him to leave and travel onward to where God wanted him. Along that journey, Jacob became afraid for what he would encounter from his past.
He had not been the best brother. He was a trickster and had often conceived of ways to get what he wanted at the cost of others. This was no way to make peace with people.
Where in your life do you need to reconcile with others?
Where in your life do you need to reconcile with others?
Be reminded that God favors those who seek reconciliation with those they have had tension with before offering their gifts to God. People are God’s creation and are made in His image. Therefore, peace making with God’s children is important to God the Father.
It took many years for Jacob to reconcile with His brother. Through the struggles, he lost many years to his own pride and selfish desires. However, there is another brother of Jacob’s which restores the peace to the world.
From Jacob’s anxiety and worry in the hearing of his brother Esau coming his way with 400 men, you can imagine the tension Jacob felt.
This was indicative of a need for peace to be made. Think of those in your life that give you fear, anxiety, tension, and the need to reach out and make peace.
One of the major issues with reconciliation is you may believe you are owed something for the injury. An eye for an eye or some form of reimbursement just as Jacob was prepared to give Esau.
While this may ease the making of peace with another, the true reconciliation comes from the change of the heart and the bringing of peace that only comes from God.
Let God soften your heart and prepare you to reconcile with both those who you have hurt and those who have hurt you.
Jacob wrestled with God before his journey to meet his brother.
Many of you are still wrestling with God without coming away from that wrestling with the understanding that you must be humbled in the process.
Matera, Frank J.. The Sermon on the Mount : The Perfect Measure of the Christian Life. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013. Accessed April 24, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
We must be changed by God
We must be changed by God
Reconciliation on our own is not possible. Our carnal nature is to be selfish, gain the wealth of the world, gain the desires of our heart, and to take what is not ours as we covet the things we do not need or are not ours to have.
Jacob’s wrestle with God changed him and humbled him so that he knew he was limited in his ability to flee from his brother.
We too are incapable of fleeing from God. He meets each one of us on our journey towards reconciliation and breaks us. We too may wrestle with Him and if we do not come away from this with the understanding that we are blessed with coming to know God more intimately, then we are going to be at a loss when it comes to making peace with others.
God desires you to make peace
God desires you to make peace
Start small. Stott mentions that making peace must begin with your family. Just as Jacob made peace with his brother, you too must understand what it will take to make peace. Recognize the issue, write it down and work out the steps it will take for you to reach the peace between you and the other person.
What are the relationships in your life? Who do you interact with that you need to have a conversation with? What will it take for that peace to occur?
Prayer and action come together. God knows your heart already and desires you reach out to your relationships for reconciliation. He goes ahead of you to establish the path for reconciliation through the blood of the cross.
Where in your church family do you need to seek peace? Churches are often the place where people seek sanctuary but are injured instead. Have the conversations there to show the world your love for one another. In that way, Jesus says the world will know you are His disciples.
Where in your community do you need to make peace? Which of your neighbors, business partners, co-workers, and other community members do you have dealings with that need to have reconciliation.
Many of us may attend regularly on Sunday without taking the peace of Christ with us to work. God desires our whole heart, not just the part that is devoted to Him on Sunday morning.
In this way, the world will see the peace offered through the blood of the cross.