Romans 8:6 For to
set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is
life and peace.
Peace. I’d like a little peace in my house. We live in a
household and a lifestage, where going to the bathroom alone is our idea of
peace. Some of you could use some peace in your congregations, or your extended
families, or your health.
When we think about all the difficult things in this life,
the chaos of the world, cancer, abortion, terrorism, abuse, marriages
self-destructing, pain, the lost…our hearts hurt. Our minds are riddled with
anxiety and confusion.
What about our homes, our marriages, our churches? Is there
peace? Most of the time, maybe. Some of the time, usually. But never all of the
time. Peace is something that will never be perfect for us in this world, at
least as a feeling or an experience of the heart.
But God’s Peace, the Spirit’s peace…now that is something
different. The Spirit’s peace, Romans tells us, is the peace that is Life, when
death is all around us. The Spirit’s peace is peace that no fear or doubt or
evil can penetrate.
When thoughts assail that tell us it’s too hard, that life is
challenging at best and just too much at worst, we set our minds on what Christ
has given us- His Peace.
I can picture it written in the air above my spouse - God’s
Peace. I can see it wrapped around my noisy children – God’s Peace. I can share
it across the void of disconnection in my congregation – God’s Peace.