Scripture
Luke 12:49-51
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until is is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No I tell you, but division.”
Observation
What a contrast this passage is to the words of the angels who announced the arrival of the savior on the night of his birth! (Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”)
Why was his arrival heralded with “peace”, yet Jesus says he did not come to bring peace? The key here is that Jesus did not come to bring peace “on earth”, rather he came to make a way for peace with God.
Peace with God means turning away from all that is not of God.
Application
I want the peace of God in my life. Not the false peace of complacency in my sin, but the true peace of a life redeemed and transformed by the power of the cross. Not the imitation peace of a life approved and celebrated by a sinful world, but the real peace of a life lived for the approval of the Father.
This will at times require conflict with ideologies and worldviews that are not submitted to God’s word. This will at times mean disagreeing with people that I love and care about. But God’s peace is what lasts, and God’s peace is what truly matters.
This week, I choose to live a life surrendered to the peace of the Savior.
Prayer
God, thank you for the peace that you bring. Not peace with the world, but peace with you. I choose to align with you, even when it puts me at odds with the world around me. I choose to surrender to you, and seek first your approval.
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