Peace This Christmas

I went as far as I could I tried to find a new face There isn't one of these lines that I would erase I lived a million miles of memories on that road With every step I take, I know that I'm not alone You take the home from the boy But not the boy from his home These are my streets, the only life I've ever known Who says you can't go home?

Who says you can't go home? There's only one place they call me one of their own Just a hometown boy born a rolling stone Who says you can't go home? Who says you can't go home? I been all around the world, and as a matter of fact There's only one place left I want to go Who says you can't go home?

Romans 12:14 ESV

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Bless- it means eulogy.. it means give a good word, to speak well of, to wish the best for someone else.

Think of it this way. Give a good word to someone who’s done you wrong. Think the very best for someone who’s difficult to live iwth.

And please note, it means to keep on doing that to those who wrong you who persecute you . It’s not a one time event… it is somethign that must be done continually.

Think of it like this. “Be a continual blessing to those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. “

Now you may say, how does a person do this- right?

Well, you need context. Go back to Romans 12.1 for a moment.

Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

The context of our passage today is God’s mercy.

Mercy of God.

So in the context of God’s mercy to us, we are to be living sacrifices . What is a living sacrifice?

Every sacrifice offered in the temple died. Even Jesus, died. It’s important to get a grip on the phrase, “Living sacrifice”.

Because no one would choose to die, aside from Jesus, as a sacrifice. Look at Galatians 2.20, for a minute

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul says he’s been crucified with Christ. To be crucified leaves you as dead.

But , Paul goes on to say he lives. Christ lives in me.

If Christ lives in me, I am dead.... and the person who persecuted me is responded to not by the dead man “Joel”, but rather by the Christ that lives in me.

That’s how we do it.

In view of what Christ has done for me, i let that love of Christ live out of me. I don’t respond, rather Christ responds through me.

Because when I respond, I respond in sin and equal and opposite reaction, with revenge and malice or at least some vengeance in me.

Jump and look at what Paul says in the 16th verse,

Romans 12:16 ESV

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Live in harmony with each other.

Do not be haughty (proud).

It means don’t be conceited.

So what does proud have to do with this discussion? Everything.

Because the times we live in are times of extremes, and the people who are living on the edge of the extremes are more interested in being right than anything else.

So many relationships have been destroyed by the need to prove one’s self “right” instead of loving.

I read a book. I listened to a podcast. I belong to this camp, and we are right. I belong to this camp, and we are right.

Go down the road of politics for a minute, and tell me where there is any agreement anywhere, and the election has been over for a full year. But we’ve still decided we’ve got to teach other why we are right and they are wrong.

Paul said, “live in harmony”. Don’t be proud.

That need to be proud lives itself out in our never being wrong, always being right, proving that the “other” is wrong and we know why.

And it’s exacerbated by vaccines and covid and boosters and all that.

And it plays itself out in our families and our lives and our churches and every relationship.

And how do most of us deal with that? Accusation.

Let someone get sick and not show up at work on the busiest shopping day of the year. The person who is sick says, “You should understand. I don’t want to spread my germs.” But for the person who is left to cover for 2 jobs now, they will think, “They took a day off so they could be with their family and friends while I am here hustiling.”

Right? You’ve seen it.

You see, in our minds, we make an accusation about that other person. We fill in a gap with an accusation instead of responding as Paul said, “in harmony”.

And Satan loves our accusations, because he is the great accuser, and when we accuse he knows....

friends become angry with each other.

marriages begin to break apart.

churches divide in to factions.

That’s why Paul says in Ephesians 4.2

Ephesians 4:2 ESV

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Bear with each other in love.

Jesus didn’t say they would know we are Christians by our correctness… or our rightness.

He said they would know that we are Christians by our love.

So instead of letting our pride force us to always be right we let Jesus change us to always be loving and forgiving. Even when we are right, if we are. And even when we are wrong, when we are.

Life is too short and our calling too great to be offended by stupid petty stuff.

The scriptures say “life is a mist.” It’s short. Don’t live in a constant state of being offended.

Overlook the offenses . and live in love.

Imagine if Jesus was constantly offended.... would the mission be carried out?

If we live in a constant state of being offended, we will never complete our mission. It’s a distraction to be offended because our pride requires us to prove ourselves right and be angry with someone else rather than just live into the love that Christ calls us to live into.

Lookat Proverbs 19:11

Proverbs 19:11 ESV

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Overlook an offense.

To overlook is a conscious decision. It doesn’t mean it never happened, it means we choose to let it go.

I’ve spent a great deal of time discussing Matthew 18.... If someone offends you, go to that person, etcetc.

And we determine that we need to reconcile, because that is the end game with Jesus, that relationships be preserved and protected.

But it isn’t assumed that this happens in every case. Sometimes we just overlook, we let it go.

WE DON’T HAVE TO BE OFFENDED AT EVERY LITTLE THING.!!! WE CAN OVERLOOK SOME THINGS!!!

“you are really slamming down the turkey”.

The word “overlook” in the hebrew means to pass over… it means to take the high road, to get above the issue. To overlook it.

Remmeber, Life is too short and our calling too great to be offended by something small. WE’ve got more imortant things to do, bigger fish to fry.

Get over it.

You want your family to enjoy the holidays,

Get over it.

You want your friends to remain your friends?

Get over it.

You want the church to succeed?

Get over it.

You want your politics to be proven right?

Get over it.

You want someone to admit that the boosters are necessary or in your view are not necessary?

Get over it.

Get over it. Overlook it. Get beyond it.

Because when we don’t. We lose our love.

We divide. Then we accuse. Then we declare our correctness. then we declare victory. then everyone loses.

And most importantly, we lose our mission.

And when the Christian loses their love, the mission of Jesus fails and Satan accomplishes his goals.

Romans 12:17 ESV

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

Romans 12:18 ESV

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Finally, Paul says, in as far as it is up to you. …live at peace with everyone.

That means the person who you’re not talking to right now.

The person who rubs you wrong.

The person who is rude to you.

The person sitting next ot you.

Because the alternative is broken homes, broken marriages, broken relationships, broken workplaces, broken churches, and broken lives.

And Paul says, so far as it depends on yuou, live at peace with all.

The Peace You Give Will Be The Peace You Have

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