I was once asked to describe in one word what a relationship with Jesus practically done for me each day.
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It was not a hard question for me to answer because to me the answer was obvious. I told them that Christianity gave me "Peace". The person who asked the question was incredulous, "Peace they replied, how can it give you peace".
We have been looking at the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Peace is number 3 on the list.
One of the fruits of having our lives transformed by the Holy Spirit is receiving peace.
The first step in receiving peace is to acknowledge our rebellion against God or what we know as sin and accept God's forgiveness and restoration through Jesus' death and resurrection.
The second step is once we have started this new life with Jesus as our Lord that we find a joy in obedience in how we live our lives each day.
For me personally I realised the great majority of my angst in life came from my own poor decisions, and often my failure to admit that they were poor decisions.
To act like Jesus and demonstrate forgiveness, to not hold a grudge, to seek to serve others and treat others in the way I like to be treated, were simple yet profound steps towards knowing peace in my life.
I know we will be tempted to say peace is impossible! Hughie come and take a walk in my shoes and see if God can give you peace. Well, I cannot take a walk in your shoes and you cannot take a walk in mine.
What I can say is that I have learnt to never doubt the transforming power of the Holy Spirit when we are committed to living as Jesus would want us to live. I have seen it in my life and in the lives of countless others.
I would like to finish with some more words from Paul on the subject of peace:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
My prayer for all of us would be that we could be bold enough to take God at his word and seek God's peace in our lives, knowing that those who will benefit the greatest will be the ones we love the most and the ones we hate the most.