Pursue Peace

There is a lot of talk in the world and the church about making, having, maintaining, and pursuing peace. Hebrews 12:14 tells the readers to “pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord….” What I want to talk about here is peace and how to pursue it.

Peace in the world’s view of things usually means the lack or absence of war. If people aren’t fighting or if things are calm, peace exists. Not fighting is good, but it isn’t really peace. Peace isn’t the absence of something it is the presence of something. That something is love, kindness, joy in the presence, goodness, active and aggressive forgiveness, confession of sin, keeping short accounts, pouring out your life for one another. Peace is a very active thing.

Pursue has a sense of urgency, persistence, hurry, depth, constancy, and intensity. When the Bible tells us to pursue something, it means to do it now, do it hard, go after it, run it down, be serious about it, don’t flag or give up.

The translators used a different word when they translated these two passages:

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. (Acts 22:4–5)

And,

And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. (Acts 26:11)

The English word, persecuted, is the same Greek word used as pursue in Hebrews. The reason I’m pointing this out is that Paul pursued Christians from town to town, obtained writs from authorities, was hard after Christians to crush them out of existence. The ardor Paul showed in trying to rid the earth of Christians is the same ardor we should have when we pursue peace.

Some practical ideas for pursuing peace:

1. Once you realize that not being at war isn’t the same thing as having peace, you can change your mind about that and realize that simply not being snarky with your husband, wife, brother, or sister doesn’t mean you are at peace with them.
2. After that, you need to do a Bible study on what it means that you are at peace with God (You might start here, Rom 5:1).
3. Do for the one you want to have peace with what God did for you in making peace with you.
4. Pour yourself into it.
5. Anticipate that this might not be a quick undertaking. If you have spent years getting to the place you are with this person, you can’t expect that one olive branch will break down all the walls and defenses they have erected against you. This pursue may well be a hard sprint and a marathon at the same time.
6. Lay down your life to make peace. Stop trying to be right, or win, or not be humiliated. Take the hit, be hurt, be the brunt, be small.
7. Love, love, love. But don’t love according to their rules. Love according to God’s Word. Love to the bone. Study the Bible to know what this means and get it in your bones.
8. Be joyful, pleasant, winsome. Love your enemy into loving what you love.

I hope this helps.

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