“15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, there in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:15-17
So, Peace. It’s something we pray for in our communities, in our world, and within ourselves. It’s a word that is used constantly in the Bible and in the Christian faith. But when we stop to think about it, what really is peace? And how do we know when we’ve found it? And how do we stay centered in that peace once we have achieved it?
I certainly don’t have the answer to any of these questions, but I can tell you this. I don’t think there is a certain point when you reach peace in your life and stay there. In my life, I’ll go through periods of calm, cool, and collected just to watch it all crumble in the next moment. But isn’t that the point?
In 2017, I went to a Montreat Youth Conference themed “ A Missing Peace” (like a play on words with a puzzle piece haha). Some of you might have been there as well. The keynotes throughout the week talked about how we are all an important part of being the peace of Christ in our world, and how that is not an act that we can achieve alone. At the end of the week, we all got a small puzzle piece to take home with us, mine is still hanging in my room. It’s a reminder of my part in the world, and that I must collaborate with others to make a difference. I learned that week that peace cannot be achieved just because I want it to be; it must be a group effort.
So, that means we have to wait. Wait for ourselves to find peace, for our community to find peace, and especially wait for our world to find peace. But I think that’s what Colossians 3:15 is talking about; we are members of one body that must work together, AND we have to be thankful for it all too. I don’t know about you, but that does not seem like an easy task. Much like the waiting season of Advent, waiting for peace takes patience and trust.
So with all this, we remember that we are not always going to have peace. Neither is our community or our world. But we can trust in the Lord that it someday will come. Much like we trust in this Advent season that Christ is coming.
Carolyn Gahan
Worship Intern
UKirk UTK
