Devo Archive

Stress is woven into the very fabric of our lives. Unbearable pressures can mount up in a moment’s notice between folks at home, school, or work. Governmental tensions can escalate to the point of war so that one nation is pitted against another. In each case, energies and resources are sacrificed in order to win an argument or to win a war. In the end, stress and strife claim more collateral damage in the lives of their victims than we can imagine.

Paul gives us a Christian way to cope. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:8). Paul is not talking about passive acceptance of the way things are. He is asking us to actively “live at peace.” Another Christian writer exhorts us to “pursue peace with all men” (Hebrews 12:14). The word used for pursue means “to pursue a person, to chase, to hunt.” Peace is not something that just happens. It must be actively hunted down and created.

Among those noble traits listed in the Beatitudes is the “PEACE-Maker.” He is the one who will hunt for ways to make peace between family members, fellow students and co-workers. He will tirelessly pursue ways to make peace between man and God. In the end, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).