As Far As It Depends on You…
Cultivating the spiritual fruit of peace
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18, NIV)
In the above verse, the Apostle Paul includes not one, but two conditional statements when it comes to living at peace with others. First, he writes, “If it is possible…”, then “…as far as it depends on you…” (Romans 12:18, NIV). Undoubtedly, Paul recognized the difficulty of putting into practice the godly trait of peace.
Indeed, peace is a challenging concept to live out. Nations struggle to maintain peace. Our relationships with one another are burdened by a lack of peace.
Still, I believe that God would not command us to live at peace with one another if He wasn’t willing to first live at peace with us. He modeled the ultimate form of peace in Jesus by
“…making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:20, NIV)
You see, our hearts are naturally hostile toward God. We are not peacemakers by nature. But God took the first step by sending His Son as a sort of peace offering. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we have peace with God. And by God’s Spirit, we are gifted the ability to live at peace with one another.
