I was going to move on to Love. But then I realized that I had not dealt with "the tongue". Peace will totally transform our speech. And people will LOVE speaking with you.
Let me take the idea of dying to an extreme. What if I'd ACTUALLY died, physically, in 1973? Yet let's suppose that, somehow, I was able to live on through the life of Jesus. I'd be kinda freaky to talk to, right? Well, if I use faith, that's exactly what it's supposed to be like.
In Mystery, I have tied with Jesus, and now the life that I live should be Jesus living in me! When you're dead, you're relaxed. Self consciousness is, of course, quite gone. But Jesus spoke in very emotional and personal ways with his dear friends and disciples. So Mr. Freaky Friday "Dead Guy" isn't really THAT STRANGE! You will, in fact, be what God made you to be - a far better friend - a far kinder soul to all people.
Here's a picture of what you'll be like. You used to be like a glass with a whole in the bottom. God is pouring His Life into the top of your glass. And it's all going right out the bottom as thoughtless speech. But now, since you HAVE COMPLETE PEACE in the DEATH OF CHRIST, you can listen in complete peace - hearing what someone is saying. And you listen WITH YOUR SPIRIT. You listen WITH YOUR HEART. And the glass doesn't leak. It fills and fills, slowly and steadily, AS YOU TRULY LISTEN. And finally, what God has been pouring into you OVERFLOWS IN LOVING, HEALING SPEACH. Your cup runneth over - with Love!
We close our mouths, and turn on our hearts. Remember that. It works.
Your EYES are different when you are at Peace. The mind of the flesh judges people superficially. It makes people uncomfortable. You have prejudged them. They eye of FAITH doesn't even see what a fool the person you are listening to may be. You actually see what the person WILL BE. You see their Spirit. Thus, when you speak, you can speak into existance those things which ARE NOT and you let God do a NEW THING in your friend's life. Your mind can superficially see the faults in a person. But since you don't FOCUS on what your eye sees - but see with your spiritual eye, the person still feels loved and accepted.
So your EYES truly do speak love and acceptance. The logical mind goes over people like a sheep grazing a pasture - chewin them right down to their roots. We must lack the courage to so abuse our fellow man. You cover their nakedness instead of being cruel and unkind. After all you, too, are also naked before God.
Now, since your heart also hates evil, something else happens. You seperate the sin from the sinner. And if you do speak a word of correction, your blows fall on the sin, not the poor vulnerable soul standing before you. You DE-PERSONALIZE any judgement you give. They may still take it personal. But since you've been listening with your heart, there's a much less chance they will do so. And you won't be lying if you say that you're "not judging them". So you're less judgmental. But you'll be more effective at correcting - actually HEALING - any problem they might have.
Some people just "draw you in". You feel so good when you talk to them. It's not because they are smart. It's not because they always tell you what to do and work hard to fix you. Yet Jesus is able to flow through them and heal your soul - refreshing you in the process. Jesus can not flow through your fleshly mind. He can enliven your mind and your heart. But you must be like your Lord who did not "Judge by what His eye saw or his ear heard". His thoughts were very much at the spiritual level - at the level of the heart. If He could not rely on His own thoughts, but had to rely on His Father for everything, what makes us think we're so smart and know the bible so well that we can turn people inside out like a grapefruit.
It is, after all, confidence that we know the bible, and that we know how to fix people, that makes us intolerable creeps. But if we really DID know the bible, we'd have understood how to hold back from shallow human thinking - even if we're just quoting a scripture - and apply sound biblical teaching concerning humility. Many, maybe even most, who think they're obeying God by quoting scripture at people are living in a way that is the complete opposite of what scripture teaches - bashing people with our bibles.
When we understand Mystery - that people need JESUS, not US - then we have true peace.
Amish are pacifists. Most Mennonites are pacifist. And many I've known are sweet and humble. But they've been known to verbally chew each other up and spit each other out. It's great that we purpose to love our enemies. But if we do not distrust our own minds - and listen and speak from the heart - we do NOT know true peace.
Let's not be like the pacifists of the Vietnam War era who would beat you senseless if you didn't agree that the war was wrong. We know that they were about as Pacifist as Ho Chi Minh. I always did want to get beaten up by a "pacifist". But the last one who threatened me failed to show up! Oh well. I know that's an extreme example. But many Christians don't know true peace, in their hearts, or in the way they treat people. So we're not much different than those violent "pacifists
Let God school you in this. It takes exercise to break those old habits. Until you accept your need to be broken, you will not be able to take even one step down this path. His Love both breaks and captivates our hearts and minds. We are unfit to try to help anyone until we have surrendered and let our lives be flooded with His Love. That process leaves you in a state of Peace - a peace that can be felt by all you know. I pray that you experience the beauty of the song "Peace" on the album "The God Of Life", by John Michael Talbot. It's actually an ancient Irish poem he put to music.
"PEACE"
"Bless, Oh Christ, my face!
Let my face now bless everything.
Bless oh Christ my eye.
May all my eye sees be blessed . . . with Peace
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