Living at Peace with Others

October 18, 2023

Jesus’ last prayer before he went to the cross was that the church would live in unity: “I

pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in

me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world

will believe you sent me.” John 17:21, NLT. 

Our unity as God’s family, the church, is our greatest witness to unbelievers.

Romans 12:10 says, “A

new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I

have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people

will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

By this all people will know that you are my disciples. By what? By our love for one another. Not

by how much we go to church. Not by how many Bible verses we know. Not

even by living a life of good morals. The world will know we belong to

Jesus by our LOVE for one another.

God’s presence in your life should make you a more loving person—not

harsher or more opinionated or more stubborn, but more loving. I know

many Christians who have lost sight of this. For some, it seems the more

Bible knowledge they acquire, the more judgmental they become rather

than more loving.

God says when we have unity within the church and when we love each

other, we ae showing the world that we belong to Jesus. Our unity and

our love is a testimony of the power of Christ to transform lives.

This doesn’t mean we agree on everything all the time, but it means we care more about other people than we do our own opinions.

Also, when we submit our opinions to God and let him transform

our hearts and minds from the inside out, we typically find that we

start to agree with other believers more (because he is transforming our

minds to think like Him), or you’ll find that you have more patience

and understanding for those who don’t agree with you.

Either way, you can do your part in striving for unity and peace.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18, NIV

So, what’s your role in unity and peace? The verse says, "As far as it depends on you." That

means, just do your part. You can't control others, but you can do your

part to try to live at peace with those around you. 

I pray that Seminole Church is a church that loves people well, and

lives at peace with everyone, as far as it depends on us. It is

impossible to live at peace with everyone, because we can't control

their responses… but we can do OUR part to take a step toward peace. We

can check our own hearts. That’s all you can do.

Our job is to keep loving each other and the community around us, and

continue to tell the greatest true story ever told, the story of Jesus

Christ.