offense

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series peace

Tuesday, I wrote about letting peace be the umpire in Colossians 3:15 and started to explore what that entails. Submission is one part; an umpire, by definition, has authority to make a call, and the umpire’s authority necessitates my submission to that call.

And that leads me to the second big idea: an umpire only makes a call when there’s potential for dispute. An arbitrator is needed only when conflict or disagreement exists. Notice what Paul says here: “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” He’s been talking about relationships in the preceding verses, so it’s interesting that he doesn’t say “let the peace of Christ rule in your relationships,” though he brings it back to that with the rest of the verse as he says, “to which indeed you were called in one body.” Paul seems to be saying that peace in my heart will enable peace in my relationships.

Newsflash: I can’t be at peace with others if I’m not at peace within and with myself! read the complete post

In this meditation from By Faith Alone, Martin Luther considers 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

Here, Peter builds upon a passage from the book of Proverbs: “Hate starts quarrels, but love covers every wrong” (Proverbs 10:12). And this is what Peter means: If you don’t restrain your sinful nature and desires, you will easily become angry with others. You will be unable to forgive others easily. So make sure you curb your evil desires. Then you will be able to love and forgive others, for love covers sin.

read the complete post