Pursuing Peace
We have spent the last two days discussing submission. Today, Peter only changes the topic slightly. He shifts ever so subtly from submission to unity. These two topics are closely related because they both require a humble heart that trusts God. Relationships of all kinds require work. Friendship and unity among the brethren require just as much work as marriage and our work relationships. For this reason, when Peter talks about unity in the church, he includes a command to have sympathy, love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Pride destroys unity. Submission opens the door for us be able to walk in unity because it reminds us that we don’t need to be right all the time. We do not pray for our will to be done but rather the will of the Father in Heaven.
Depending on your version, the beginning of verse 8 might say, “have unity of spirit” or it might say “be of one mind”. The idea is the same, and both translations apply. This encouragement ties in with Paul’s example that Christians are all part of one body. Paul tells us that the head (or mind) of that body is Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Peter basically does as well. When he tells us to have the same spirit or same mind, he doesn’t mean that we should all have the mind of Keegan Lynn or (insert your name here). Unity does not stem from one person forcing everyone else to go their way. Our mind, the leading decision-making part of our spiritual lives, is Christ. Understand though, that we cannot know the mind of Christ if we do not study His word. God’s mind is revealed to us through scripture. If our books are silently attracting dust on a shelf, our ears cannot hear, and our will cannot mold to the will of the Lord.
If we are to “seek peace and pursue it,” we need to willing set our goals and agenda’s aside. Just as with submission, this can only happen when we solidified our trust in God. We don’t have to win every argument because we trust God to fight for us. Psalm 37:5-6 reminds us, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday.” Sometimes, seeking peace means that we don’t get our way, and we can be okay with that. Pursuing peace means that we place a greater importance on it than being comfortable where we are. The deeper our relationship with God is, the more we understand the mind of Christ, the easier this gets. If you struggle with peace, turn back to the Good Shepherd. Look at his example. By modeling our lives after our Savior, we will discover a life filled with greater unity and peace than ever before.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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