More Thoughts on Peace

Our family attended the Episcopal Church when I was growing up. Every Sunday at the close of the service, the priest would pronounce a blessing. One of the common ones was:

"May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

What a great way to conclude a worship service...

I can remember when I started understanding more of what was going on in the service (it took a long time). That blessing captivated me. I began thinking about every element.

God's peace goes beyond my understanding. Boy could I relate to that. I was standing there looking at my dad who had experienced a radical turnaround in his life. Many times he'd have tears running down his cheeks, undone by God's great love, (which sometimes embarrassed me as a teenager)... My mom was equally grateful, being the glue that held our family together. And I was just starting to get along with my sister which was a miracle in and of itself. We were slightly competitive and I wasn't very nice :)

"May the peace of God... guard your hearts and minds" It was amazing how true this was. When mom and dad are at peace, and when mom and dad love Jesus, it is amazing how much peace transfers to the kids. Finances were extremely tight, yet God's peace guarded our hearts and minds. We went through many hard times, yet mom and dad would invite Jesus to bring His peace. They would constantly love and serve others, inviting them into our home. What a powerful blessing of peace parents can give to their kids.

"in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" Somehow it always came back to Jesus. It was about knowing Him and about His love.

A few years later my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. We went through 30+ years of hard times (and good times) together. And through it all we experienced God's peace.

I stood with my family a few years ago at the end of a worship service, looking at my dad sitting in his wheelchair (smiling with tears), my mom standing next to him (happy), my beautiful sister (worshipping) and her family, along with my awesome wife and sons. The peace of God which surpasses all understanding had truly guarded our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thank you God for your peace!

Everyone Has a Place

I'm thankful for the noticeable impact on marriages in this series. We're receiving good reports almost daily. I've also heard positive reports from singles, single parents, divorcees and widows. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be?!?

Imagine being in the early church and hearing sections of the Bible read which seemed to have no relevance to you personally. Actually, in the early church, all issues were viewed as being relevant because they viewed themselves as a family. Your issues affect me and my issues affect you because we are joined together through relationship with Jesus. That can be awesome, and it can be messy.

In our consumer culture we tend to approach faith like a buffet line. We tend to only embrace what makes us feel good (in the moment) and avoid anything challenging. We tend to hang out mostly with people like us. We've heard about other people's suffering but distance ourselves from learning anything about it.

June (my wife) and I enjoyed our first small group years ago which was comprised of young, old, married and single folks. Everyone had different life experiences. We got to know each other, laughed together, prayed together, learned together and walked through stuff together. Diversity in community has a way of teaching us to look beyond ourselves and realize the universe does not revolve around us. The grace we need can only come through humility.

My hope is not only that marriages will get stronger, but we will get healthier and as a family. That means everyone has a part to play. Everyone has a place at the table.

So let's pray and keep building together. We're a part of something amazing!