This one aspect of our faith - True Peace - is enough to cause the poor tortured lost people of this world to come flocking to us.
When people picture Jesus, in their hearts, they picture a man living in an Amazing Peace. And they know that followers of Jesus will be living a life Rich with His Peace. We look at the church in the book of Acts - and even though they had some troubles - they lived out a lifestyle filled with a peace the world knows nothing about. Part of it is that they loved their enemies - and prayed for them. They also had a love for one another that overcame the issues that did pop up.
Our modern church life often fails to exude a Spirit of Peace. Gossip, argument and division are common. Folks love this present age - so they are in anxiety and under stress.
We escape all this when we are released from bondage to our self will and logical minds in the Mystery Of Christ. The simple act of spending 15 minutes or more in prayer and meditation yields an immediate improvement. Your controlling thoughts shut down and you go into that realm of the Spirit where your heart and Spirit are active, and not your mind. It's kind of like when you exercise - you know what I mean. If you spend an hour on a treadmill, your mind shuts down. Aerobic exercise numbs the senses. It's God given. True Spiritual exercise releases you from bondage to your controlling thoughts and lets you go off to that happy place where you and Jesus are one. It's always true, of course. But in prayer and meditation your experience manifests that reality.
Before we examine the results of this, let's point out that these times are personal and can be quite emotive. In other words you are emotionally humbled - and Love fills everything. Meditation that is impersonal - though it may claim to be spiritual - is just a way to resist God. I don't find staring at my own navel that liberating. It's being captivated by Jesus and His Love that makes the difference.
Some of the benefits that increase in our lives include a rich experience of Love toward your brothers and sisters. I can think of nothing more intimate than partaking of the flesh and blood of our Lord - as we "look upon the one whom we have pierced" and "mourn for Him as for a firstborn son". Brokenness, tears, and the joy that follows such "Sweet Surrender" render us very close and affectionate to each other. We might be complete creeps, in the sin stained temperment of our natural minds - but he breaks us. The taller they are the harder they fall. So we show more pity upon those for whom brokenness comes like the blow of a mallet rather than a gentle summer breaze.
We can't fight about doctrine because that's like slicing and dicing the Son Of God. Truth is Mystery. And Jesus is the Truth, in Mystery. So we shan't slice him up like a lab specimen. Nor do we retain the courage to argue, gossip, or even bear one another ill will.
Do you see, now, how Peace - this marvelous Fruit Of The Spirit - bursts forth like a Fountain Of Life in the Mystery Of Christ. God grant that our lives be totally transformed.
And my The Peace Of God - Which Passes All Understanding - Rule Your Hearts And Minds IN CHRIST JESUS.
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