“And above all else put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you called in one body. And be thankful.”
If you are a regular reader of CouchPotatoRedux, you probably know that love, joy and peace are three of my favorite topics. Colossians 2:14-15 incorporates two of these favorite topics – love and peace. I want to stress peace in this article, but I will also point out what contribution love makes to peace. Verse 14 tells us that we are to “put on” or “clothe ourselves” with love. It tells us to do this because love “binds everything together in perfect harmony.” That “binding” would include peace as well. I think that love precedes all of the great Christian virtues. If we do not love, we will have a difficult time living at peace with ourselves and with the world around us. Keep in mind that the Greek word that is used for love in this verse is the same word that is used in John 3:16 and in 1 Corinthians 13. It is the Greek word agape (a-gah-pay), which is God’s kind of love – a sacrificial love which loves beyond all reason. Suffice it to say that love is tantamount to peace. Verse 15 tells us that after we have “put on” love, we should let the “peace of Christ rule in our hearts.” This statement goes beyond just having peace, it says to let peace rule in our hearts. If peace rules in our hearts, it means that we have peace that can withstand all of life’s problems. In order for peace to rule in our hearts, we need to remember the source of this peace. This is given to us in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might be in you, and that your joy might be full.” The peace that rules in our hearts is the peace that only Christ can give. This is way beyond “peace of mind.” “Peace of mind” means that we feel at peace with the world around us, and do not have a lot of worries. The ruling peace of Christ means that we have peace in our hearts and minds no matter what is going on in the world, and no matter what worries that could beset us, we have peace anyway. We do not have to conjure up this ruling peace, for it resides in our hearts, minds and lives with Christ. This is peace that only Christians can have, and needs to be claimed by all Christians. If Christ’s peace is to rule in our lives, we need to claim it daily. When life seems to be getting to be too much for us, we need to remember that nothing is too great for Christ who resides in us through the Holy Spirit. Paul understood that peace in a very real way because of all that he faced in his service for Christ. We are reminded in verse 15a that we are “called into one body.” When the peace of Christ is ruling in our hearts, we are at peace with other people, particularly other Christians. That is what Paul meant by “one body.” The “body” mentioned here is the church, which is often referred to as Christ’s body. When Christians are at peace with Christ, thus within themselves, then they are at peace with fellow Christians. Perhaps this is an indication that in churches today we need to work on this business of having Christ’s peace in our hearts. If you are having problems with your church right now, perhaps you need to search your own heart and see if the peace of Christ is ruling there. In verse 15b, we are reminded that this rule of peace in our hearts will result in thankfulness. Look at how all of these Christian virtues work together. In order to have the peace of Christ we need to have the love of Christ at work in our lives. Then we need to live in unity with other Christians in our churches. Finally, we need to be thankful as well. It seems to me that if we are clothed with God’s kind of love, His peace is ruling in our hearts, and we are living in unity with fellow Christians, we will have a lot for which to be thankful. I don’t think that anyone could disagree with this proposition. Bro. Joe
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