Live In Peace

Hebrews 12:14 NIV

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

For those who have been praying for me,  I thank you. 

I love this verse.  It expresses the sum of Christian existence.   We are to live in peace and to be holy.  

Peace starts with ourselves.  To have peace, we need Christ who forgives sins.  This peace allows us to love ourselves.  Through this love we can then show love to those closest to us.  Love grows from there to affect the way we treat others.

Love is an action not a feeling.  Love is a choice.  The more we practice loving others the stronger it grows within us.  True love starts with God because He is love.  So, we start with our relationship with Him.

Do you have a relationship with God?  If so, do you nurture it?  If not, try speaking to Him and ask for His forgiveness for sin.  Then ask for Him to help you have a relationship with Him.  All other relationships are born out of it.

Peace abounds in love.  But the author of Hebrews also speaks of holiness.  To be holy is to live a pure life.  It means your life is set aside to honor God in everything you do.  If it does not, you stop doing it and find new things to do that do honor God.

Holiness is a special way of life that emerges from a special gifting from the Holy Spirit.  In fact according to Galatians 5:22,23, He gifts us with a special fruit.  This fruit is the fullness of living a holy life.  Against such there is no law.  Go ahead look it up.  Ask yourself were you can improve and live holy.

Without holiness we will not see God - in this life or the next.  With holiness we will see God's work in our lives and experience eternity with Him.  Where will you start?