The Fruit of the Spirit: Week Four
And the Fruit of the Spirit is Peace
First, what is peace? Peace involves rest, trust, contentment, reconciliation, and harmony.
Rest: stillness after work, silence after noise, calm after busy.
Trust: to lack fear concerning others actions and the effect those actions would have on you, to believe someone completely, and be willing to place your life in their hands.
Contentment: to lack greed for anything, to be satisfied with where God has you, and what He has given you.
Reconciliation: to lack hostility between two groups of people.
Harmony: to live in a way that does not focus on self, but rather others, that sees the needs of others as more important that the needs of self.
What is peace? Peace is both a state in which we live, and also a gift that is given to us. How is it a state? We live in a state called California. The land around us is defined as California. We live in California. You can leave this state and go to another state, perhaps one called Oregon. A different area of the world is defined as Oregon, and in being so described, it is not California. Much is the same with Peace. We can be in peace, and we can be out of peace. To live in peace is to live in such a way that your life could be described with the previous terms, rest, trust, contentment, reconciliation, and harmony. We describe our surroundings with terms particular to California. The same is true for peace.
Peace is also a gift. God gives us peace in and through Jesus. There are a few aspects of that gift. The first is the ability to live in peace, or what we just described. Next, because of that gift, we have peace with God, meaning we can rest in Him, trust Him, be content with Him, be reconciled to Him, and live in Harmony with Him. This is what it means to be at peace with God. This can only happen through Jesus, and through the gift of the Spirit. Like we talked about in our catechism, sin will not go unpunished, and we are sinners. The gospel is though that Christ has become that punishment for us. Therefore, through the sacrifice of Christ, and his victory over death, we have peace with God.
As always this gift is given to us with the purpose of us in turn, giving it to others. We never simply receive. We receive in order to give. God gave. We are to be imitators of Him. So we give. This means living in such a way that bestows peace on others. What does this look like with our 5 aspects of Peace? Lets see.
Giving Rest:
There were once two boys, one disobedient, the other obedient. The disobedient boy never thought about what his actions did to his parents. They were always worried about him, worrying about how to teach him godliness, for they knew that their child was an unrepentant sinner. This brought great anxiety, and stress. They stayed up many nights all night, talking about how to teach their child. Their child brought no rest to them, and their was no peace between them, because he was always in trouble.
The parents of the obedient child never worried about their boy. The trusted him completely, for he had shown himself to be trustworthy. They never stayed up late worrying about how he was going to grow up, if he was going to get into any real trouble. The boy brought his parents rest, and they were at peace.
Trust:
Two friends, Bob and Mike, were at peace with each other. This meant that there was no bitterness, or anger or anything like that between them. When Bob went on vacation, he asked Mike to watch his bike. Mike agreed and was very careful to take care of the bike. Bob trusted that Mike would take good care of the bike. He had peace concerning his bike, and did not worry about it at all. He was not afraid to leave it with Mike.
Contentment:
There once was a woman named Barbara. She was very poor. She owned very little, but what she did own allowed her to live in a house, and gave her food every day. She never complained about having more things, even though her best friend was a very wealthy woman who had everything. Barbara was at peace with what she had. She was thankful and grateful for her life, and possessions. She gave thanks to God for everything, and understood that this world is fleeting, and that our treasures are in Heaven, where dust does not gather. Her thankful life was simple and quiet. She never wished she had anything more beyond what she had. She was at peace.
Reconciliation:
There once was a father who loved his son. His son however was rotten, and stole everything his father owned, sold it, and moved to the city. In the city he spent the money foolishly, and soon was alone, and very poor. He began to feel sorry for what he had done, and realized it was a very selfish thing to do. He wished he could see his father again, and be at peace with him. The next day, his father came to the city and found him in one of the dirty alleyways. He picked up his son, and brought him home, and cleaned him up and gave him a large dinner. The son confessed his sin, and asked his father’s forgiveness. He forgave his son immediately, and loved him all the more. Through forgiveness and reconciliation, they found peace.
Harmony:
Two boys, Phil and Sam, were playing basketball together one day. Phil was an excellent basketball player, played on several teams in school, and in various leagues. Sam barely ever played the game, and so wasn’t really any good. But he had fun. Phil knew that he was better than Sam, and he knew that Sam was doing everything wrong. But Phil and Sam were good friends and at peace with one another. This meant that Phil never boasted about how good he was, nor tried to show off in front of Sam, but did everything he could to help Sam, but only when Sam wanted it. Phil never did what he wanted, but only what he sincerely thought would be best for Sam. So they played games they could both play, and enjoy. Phil put Sam’s needs and enjoyment first, before his own. In fact his enjoyment was found in Sam’s enjoyment. This was because Phil had peace, and was at peace with life.
A few things we can talk about here. To be at peace with someone means to act toward them in a manner fitting the five aspects we just discussed. We must live this way because God has given us this peace.
Num 6:23 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
"So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
2Th 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
God has granted us peace, and has made us a people of peace. Again, our duty as Christians, and bearers of not only Gods image, but His name as well, is to share what He has given us with all the world. And so it does not fit for us to be angry at our sister because she played with our toy, or be rude to our brother because he left his clothes on out side of the room. We need to be at peace with others. This is how we honor God, and give Him thanks. We honor and give thanks through obedience. We have been granted peace. How can we not be at peace with others?
First, what is peace? Peace involves rest, trust, contentment, reconciliation, and harmony.
Rest: stillness after work, silence after noise, calm after busy.
Trust: to lack fear concerning others actions and the effect those actions would have on you, to believe someone completely, and be willing to place your life in their hands.
Contentment: to lack greed for anything, to be satisfied with where God has you, and what He has given you.
Reconciliation: to lack hostility between two groups of people.
Harmony: to live in a way that does not focus on self, but rather others, that sees the needs of others as more important that the needs of self.
What is peace? Peace is both a state in which we live, and also a gift that is given to us. How is it a state? We live in a state called California. The land around us is defined as California. We live in California. You can leave this state and go to another state, perhaps one called Oregon. A different area of the world is defined as Oregon, and in being so described, it is not California. Much is the same with Peace. We can be in peace, and we can be out of peace. To live in peace is to live in such a way that your life could be described with the previous terms, rest, trust, contentment, reconciliation, and harmony. We describe our surroundings with terms particular to California. The same is true for peace.
Peace is also a gift. God gives us peace in and through Jesus. There are a few aspects of that gift. The first is the ability to live in peace, or what we just described. Next, because of that gift, we have peace with God, meaning we can rest in Him, trust Him, be content with Him, be reconciled to Him, and live in Harmony with Him. This is what it means to be at peace with God. This can only happen through Jesus, and through the gift of the Spirit. Like we talked about in our catechism, sin will not go unpunished, and we are sinners. The gospel is though that Christ has become that punishment for us. Therefore, through the sacrifice of Christ, and his victory over death, we have peace with God.
As always this gift is given to us with the purpose of us in turn, giving it to others. We never simply receive. We receive in order to give. God gave. We are to be imitators of Him. So we give. This means living in such a way that bestows peace on others. What does this look like with our 5 aspects of Peace? Lets see.
Giving Rest:
There were once two boys, one disobedient, the other obedient. The disobedient boy never thought about what his actions did to his parents. They were always worried about him, worrying about how to teach him godliness, for they knew that their child was an unrepentant sinner. This brought great anxiety, and stress. They stayed up many nights all night, talking about how to teach their child. Their child brought no rest to them, and their was no peace between them, because he was always in trouble.
The parents of the obedient child never worried about their boy. The trusted him completely, for he had shown himself to be trustworthy. They never stayed up late worrying about how he was going to grow up, if he was going to get into any real trouble. The boy brought his parents rest, and they were at peace.
Trust:
Two friends, Bob and Mike, were at peace with each other. This meant that there was no bitterness, or anger or anything like that between them. When Bob went on vacation, he asked Mike to watch his bike. Mike agreed and was very careful to take care of the bike. Bob trusted that Mike would take good care of the bike. He had peace concerning his bike, and did not worry about it at all. He was not afraid to leave it with Mike.
Contentment:
There once was a woman named Barbara. She was very poor. She owned very little, but what she did own allowed her to live in a house, and gave her food every day. She never complained about having more things, even though her best friend was a very wealthy woman who had everything. Barbara was at peace with what she had. She was thankful and grateful for her life, and possessions. She gave thanks to God for everything, and understood that this world is fleeting, and that our treasures are in Heaven, where dust does not gather. Her thankful life was simple and quiet. She never wished she had anything more beyond what she had. She was at peace.
Reconciliation:
There once was a father who loved his son. His son however was rotten, and stole everything his father owned, sold it, and moved to the city. In the city he spent the money foolishly, and soon was alone, and very poor. He began to feel sorry for what he had done, and realized it was a very selfish thing to do. He wished he could see his father again, and be at peace with him. The next day, his father came to the city and found him in one of the dirty alleyways. He picked up his son, and brought him home, and cleaned him up and gave him a large dinner. The son confessed his sin, and asked his father’s forgiveness. He forgave his son immediately, and loved him all the more. Through forgiveness and reconciliation, they found peace.
Harmony:
Two boys, Phil and Sam, were playing basketball together one day. Phil was an excellent basketball player, played on several teams in school, and in various leagues. Sam barely ever played the game, and so wasn’t really any good. But he had fun. Phil knew that he was better than Sam, and he knew that Sam was doing everything wrong. But Phil and Sam were good friends and at peace with one another. This meant that Phil never boasted about how good he was, nor tried to show off in front of Sam, but did everything he could to help Sam, but only when Sam wanted it. Phil never did what he wanted, but only what he sincerely thought would be best for Sam. So they played games they could both play, and enjoy. Phil put Sam’s needs and enjoyment first, before his own. In fact his enjoyment was found in Sam’s enjoyment. This was because Phil had peace, and was at peace with life.
A few things we can talk about here. To be at peace with someone means to act toward them in a manner fitting the five aspects we just discussed. We must live this way because God has given us this peace.
Num 6:23 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
"So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
2Th 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
God has granted us peace, and has made us a people of peace. Again, our duty as Christians, and bearers of not only Gods image, but His name as well, is to share what He has given us with all the world. And so it does not fit for us to be angry at our sister because she played with our toy, or be rude to our brother because he left his clothes on out side of the room. We need to be at peace with others. This is how we honor God, and give Him thanks. We honor and give thanks through obedience. We have been granted peace. How can we not be at peace with others?
| Life of Peace | Life without Peace |
| Rest Joy | Anxiety Worry |
posted by joe at
12:05 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Jens - thanks! Catching up would be great - I miss you too!
Cell phone - (210) 912-3181 or home phone (210) 403-3037 -no Answering machine.
I need your numbers too :) love ya!
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