Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15

There are probably many Christians who stand upon the first half of this verse as a guide for making decisions. I'm not. Now, I'm not saying that the peace of Christ won't have a profound effect on many of your decisions - for it most certainly does - however, this peace has nothing to do with some kind of peaceful feeling as to which choice you should make. Rather, letting the peace of Christ act as umpire (Greek for rule) in your hearts is much better than that. For this peace is substantial. It is something you can count on, day in, day out.

What is this peace? It is the peace that Christ has made by giving up his life on the cross for us. Consider what this means in view of how we regard one another. After all, how many barriers, how many offenses, how many quarrels have kept us warring with one another? For us, Christ has done away with all of it, and he has called us into one body. What does this mean for you right now? It means that you can throw away all those reasons you might have against your brother or sister in Christ. And not only that. Just because some of those you live with may not have the peace of Christ does not obligate you to live according to their offenses and hostilities. My friends, we are free. And we can live according to freedom, even in a world of bondage.

Shovel Audio

"Be at peace with all men? Hey it's hard enough being at peace with just ONE person, we say. But does the reality that lies beneath the appearance of this statement escape you? Join Jim and I as we discuss what it truly means to be 'at peace with all men' as it is according to Christ!" -Dominic Adam Harte

Stop by and check out this week's ShovelAudio, entitled Can I be happy?