By David ReayWednesday 2 Apr 2014LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Romans 12:18
If it is possible,so far as it depends on you,live peaceably with all. (NRSV)
Wouldn’t we all love to live peaceably with all? Wouldn’t we love to be able to fix up the fractured relationships we experience? Wouldn’t we love to have the power to make things come right with others?
God must feel the same way. He loves each and every individual with a passion and yet many individuals want nothing to do with him. He offers friendship and forgiveness to all but so many spurn the offer. He longs for there to be peace and goodwill among people but sees anything but.
God,it seems,limits his power and does not force good relationships on people. And according to Paul,our own power is likewise limited. We are to seek peace with others but it may not always be possible. We are responsible for making the offer of peace,the gift of forgiveness,the desire for reconciliation. But we can’t singlehandedly make any relationship be as it should be. It takes one to offer a peaceable relationship. It takes two to make it a reality.
This is painful to us,and unimaginably painful for God. But it is part of the landscape of human living. We dare not butt our heads against the brick wall of others’ hostility and feel we are responsible for demolishing the brick wall. All we will get is a sore head! We do what we can,not what we can’t.
This side of heaven,our relationships are flawed. Instead of demanding perfection of them,we do better to seek God’s grace to accept their imperfections.
Blessings
David Reay