Let the Peace of God Rule
Colossians 3:12-17 (KJV)
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
As believers, how often do we find ourselves outraged at the actions of those in the world? If you are like me, you have often experienced that flash of anger when another driver cuts in front of you on a speeding interstate only to exit the highway. You have rushed into the store quickly to pick up a couple of items and are heading for the checkout and another shopper with a shopping cart full speeds ahead of you and slips into the line just as you get there. I’m sure you can cite many more examples like this, maybe even that have happened to you today, and you are still more than peeved as you read this.
In this crowded and busy world of ours, we are afforded many such opportunities to be angry and have the urge to lash out in our anger. Have you ever held it in and the moment you walk into your house, you snap and let that anger out on your own family, the ones you love most in this world?All of us are guilty of that one, even if we don’t want to admit it.
The apostle Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Colossians as you read the verses above. In chapter 3, verses 12 and 13, Paul says that we are to show kindness and longsuffering and to forebear one another. Now just what is longsuffering anyway? And what is this forbearing stuff? Well, in the vernacular of today, it means we are to “chill out” and “keep our cool”, and in the words of Jesus, we are to “turn the other cheek”. It means that we are to hold our tongue and control our urge to retaliate.
Growing up in the 60’s in a Christian home, I cannot tell you how many times I heard my mom tell me, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”. I heard this so many times as a child and even into my teen years that I didn’t think I could stand to hear it one more time. In the years since she has passed and her voice is only present in the recesses of my mind, I can still hear her speaking these words to me when I am tempted to react out of anger to someone’s words or actions. In her wisdom, mom was telling me the same thing that Paul said in verses 12 and 13, but in a way that I could comprehend and understand.
Now the hard part in this passage comes at the end of verse 13. When others do or say things that hurt, Paul says believers are to forgive them in our hearts, just as Christ forgave us. For most of us, when we are offended in any way, we do not have the urge to forgive and go on and let it go. But Paul is giving us a very simple principle in this passage. When we do forgive and let go, what happens? He tells us in verse 15 that we are able to “let the peace of God rule” in our hearts. We need to remember that the opposite of anger is peace. God wants us to know His peace.
Now how does this work exactly? How does this happen. Paul answers this in verse 16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom”. Regularly spending time in God’s Word, the Holy Bible, is how we allow His Word to dwell in us to create His wisdom in our hearts. This allows us to know His grace in our hearts to overcome the anger that we may experience toward others. This is what Jesus refers to by “turning the other cheek”.
Verse 17 should be our mantra as a believer in Christ. Where ever we are, and whatever we do or say, “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” I challenge each of you just as I challenge myself. Do everything that we do in the name of Lord Jesus. And most importantly, let us always give thanks to God for everything as we act and speak as if it were in the name of Jesus.
About The Author
Shelby Cooper
Shelby Cooper is a retired IT professional that worked in the oil industry for 33 years. He is a former minister of music/youth and religious education where he served Baptist churches in Oklahoma. He is also an amateur radio operator and also enjoys photography and writing.