"Let the Peace of Christ Rule in (Our) Hearts..."

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (rf. Col. 3:15 ESV)

            We no doubt face hard and difficult times in life. Some who read these words at this time are going through a rough patch, possibly finding it painful to even think of seeing something good in their lives for which to give thanks. It is easy, as we well know, for us to get caught up in the negative circumstances that surround us. When we do, they overwhelm our souls as well as our senses, dragging us down quickly to the pit of despair. Yet, as the Apostle Paul intimates, this is not what God wants for us. He has a greater desire for His people.

            In this passage, Paul uses strong language to show that the Lord wants His followers to experience very important things in their lives on an ongoing basis: peace and thankfulness. To this end, the Lord Himself has “called” us. Let’s explore this concept for a moment. To the modern mind, the idea of “calling” is one that allows for the opportunity to turn away from such an action, to rebel against it so that one can follow his/her own path. There is an inbred antipathy toward “calling” because it speaks of One who knows better than we do what our future should be, what our best interests are. Thus, we tend to turn away from Him who provides us the very best of what could be ours if we would only follow His directions.

            In this case, our “calling” is two-fold. First of all, we are “called in one body”. So, we must understand the “calling” to which Paul is referring is not an individual “calling”, but a corporate one. It belongs to all who are members of Christ’ Church, to all who have experienced His true salvation. Secondly, we are called to “let the peace of Christ rule in (our) hearts”. Notice that we are not merely to ask that His peace come into our hearts, but that His peace “rule” there. Just like a king upon a throne, His peace is to exert its “rule” over us in every area of our lives. We should submit ourselves to this peace always. Only then will we know and experience this “calling” of Christ.

            When we do, we will “be thankful”; we will know and understand the full extent of thankfulness. As His peace pervades our hearts and minds, we will have the opportunity of appreciating what it means to be at peace with ourselves, with others, but, most importantly, with God Himself. The longer His peace rules us, the more we will grow in that appreciation and the greater our level of thankfulness will become. 

            We definitely need more peace and thankfulness in our day. It may be that we need to revisit Paul’s words to us in this passage and apply them. If the issue is one of control and our need to rule our own lives, thoughts, and motivations, then this might be a good opportunity to review our own relationship with Christ since we have not submitted our own selves to Him, obviously. For the age-old dictum is very true: no Christ, no peace; know Christ, know peace. In this case, to know Him and to have His peace rule our hearts is to experience thankfulness as He has designed. May this be each of our experience with Him today.