“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” Romans 5:1
With the strange political climate and opposing ideologies about what makes for a just society or what is reality its very self, I find peace very difficult to experience in these days.
Let’s top that off with the challenges happening in our personal lives from health issues of the aging to mental health of our youth and everything else in between.
Oh, I ache for peace. Yet Paul says, held in our faith in Jesus the Christ, we have peace with God.
I don’t always feel at peace. Do you?
Living in Christian community that is grounded in the promise of peace through the outpouring of Christ’s life for all is a valuable way to help remind each other of that peace.
As your pastor, I invite you to take a deeper step into the life of the Risen Lord community. Worship online or in-person if it’s been a while. Join Tuesday morning bible study or the book study on Being Mortal which begins this Sunday after worship. (If you don’t have a book, join us anyway and get it later). Reach out to a member or unchurched friend or family and let them know you’re thinking of them. Ask them what’s been happening lately. Pray for the people on the Risen Lord prayer list. Bring food for the Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson County. Reach out to Pastor Wendy with an outreach ministry idea that’s been nagging you.
Don’t stop there! Look for the places people are aching for peace in our world. Is the Spirit challenging your faith by stirring up a little holy unsettling so that you might BE an agent of peace through advocacy and support?
And if you feel at peace and life feels in equilibrium, relish the moment. But when you feel the shift or instability of peace, know that your faith community is here to wrestle with you. It’s what we do when we gather for confession and forgiveness, for hearing a challenging word proclaimed that reveals grace and for a meal that welcomes us as we are to participate in the fullness of Christ’s life poured out for the world, for each of us.
We have peace, that is the promise. It may not always be fully evident for the world around us does NOT offer us true peace. However, God won’t withdraw that promised peace from you. God is the healing power of the past, present and future that is leading us toward peace. We can trust God. Thanks be to Christ who reveals it to us!