Look for peace and work for it (NCV, Psalm 34:14).
Jesus said: Blessed are the peace-makers (Matthew
5:9). Both of these passages teach us that, as God’s children (those who would
carry on the family business, so to speak), we have a responsibility to
actively pursue peace. Peace never comes by following the path of least
resistance.
The Psalmist writes that we are to look for peace. Believe that peace is a possibility.
Don’t assume that violence is inevitable, or that healing cannot happen. Give
peace the benefit of the doubt.
He goes on the say we must work for it. Don’t just hope for it; roll up your
sleeves and get involved. And if at first you don’t succeed, don’t run home
with your tail between your legs; try again. Work for it.
The antithesis of this peacemaker ethic is hiding behind my right
to not get involved. That’s what the priest and the Levite did when they
happened upon a crime victim in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:30-35). The Samaritan, on the other hand, got involved and did what he could
to heal the ravages of violence. He didn’t end a war or free a nation; he just
helped another human being.
We may not be Mahatma Ghandi, or Martin Luther King Jr., or
Jesus Christ, but it would be a shame to neglect what we can do just because of what we cannot.
Each of us has a role to play. Our part may not make the evening news (that’s something
old people used to watch before the Internet), but we can be sure it will make
a difference.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Where would God have you
get involved in the pursuit of peace?
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