“STRIVE FOR PEACE!”

Hebrews 12:14                (ESV)

 “”STRIVE FOR PEACE” with everyone, AND FOR THE HOLINESS WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD.”  

It shouldn’t surprise us that “STRIVING FOR PEACE” would be one of the characteristics of Heaven that we should work towards.  I’m John 14:27 JESUS says “PEACE I leave with you; MY PEACE I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  HE also says earlier in John 14:6 “JESUS said to him, "I am the way, and the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the FATHER except through ME.”  

TRUE PEACE only comes through pursuing TRUTH, desiring to walk more closely with JESUS.  The enemy wants to bring turmoil and discontent, but living with and for JESUS is the ONLY way we can experience TRUE PEACE. According to Scripture, no one will be able to SEE THE LORD without living a HOLY life.  But how can a wretched sinner such as myself ever expect to live HOLY?  We mustn’t try to independently capture PEACE without living with CHRIST as our substitute (propitiation)!  Performing a word study of the word “propitiate” sends my computer to the word “appease”, which carries a definition of “to bring to a state of PEACE...”!!  True PEACE cannot be attained outside of JESUS.  

We will NOT be able to have PEACE with everyone when we live HOLY.  “This world” cannot understand THE SPIRIT leading us (1 Corinthians 2:14)???  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t “STRIVE FOR PEACE” during our sojourn through this wilderness.  The LOVE we exhibit will be used to draw “lost” people to HIM, even if though most might laugh and ridicule us all the way to an eternity of torment.  Since we are follow our example (JESUS), should we expect to be treated any better than HE is/was?  HE said we must “...deny himself and take up his cross and FOLLOW ME”!  

The TRUTH is offensive.  It causes Believers to change the life they WERE living and begin a new path.  When we “STRIVE FOR PEACE” with everyone, AND FOR THE HOLINESS WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD we should be doing so with the knowledge that this world is opposed to TRUTH!  When we “STRIVE FOR PEACE”, we won’t necessarily bring peace to all those who surround us. But living for the LORD will cause our “STRIVE FOR PEACE” to be worth rejection from “this world”!  Since JESUS is PEACE, we should do our beat to make HIM known to all by living HOLY.  Those efforts will be worth it!!!