Saturday, March 7, 2009

PEACE THAT IS SEASONED WITH SALT -- Devotional for March 7, from "Good Seeds"

You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with one another. (Mark 9:50b)

Here we have the first of the “One Another’s” found in the New Testament. Of the more than 70 times this phrase is used, most are exhortations to the church by the apostle Paul. But in today’s passage Jesus is speaking. And our Prince of Peace tells us to be part of his kingdom of peace by being at peace with one another. As we examine this verse a little closer, two questions emerge. Question #1 reveals the problem: Why is peace spoken of here in the context of “one another” rather than in the arena of the world at large? Well, why are most murders committed within households? Why are family feuds (and church fights!) the ugliest of all conflicts? Why do we “always hurt the ones we love”? And why is it easier to love outsiders than insiders? Question #2 reveals the solution: What do the attributes of salt have to do with the achieving of peace? The answer becomes clear as we define our terms. Salt preserves and enhances life (see March 6), but what about peace? Man tends to think of peace simply as the absence of conflict, or as someone put it, “the pause in the fighting when we stop to reload!” Peace between warring parties, be they nations or families or individuals, is always tenuous, and always temporary. It can be broken in an instant, the moment self-interest replaces concern for the welfare of others. But the Bible’s definition is totally different: Peace is not the absence of anything, but rather the presence of something. When light shines into a room, the darkness dissipates and disappears. You need not pray against the darkness, you just turn on the light! Conflict is that darkness. Turn on the light and the fight is over! The light, in the words of Jesus, is represented by the qualities of salt. A “salty” Christian is one whose very essence is the presence of Christ. Indwelt by God’s Spirit, he is now a “partaker of the divine nature” (I Peter 1:4). He has not only the communicable attributes of God (those traits which can be shared, such as love, mercy, and peace; the non-communicable attributes, such as omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, belong to God alone, and He “will not share His glory with another”). The Christian is not all-powerful, but the power of God is at his disposal. When did God first use His power on mankind’s behalf? When He created life. And how has He used it since? By sustaining life, giving us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (verse 3). And that’s what salt does, it preserves, and then enhances, life. And what is the result? Peace!

No comments:

Post a Comment