Monday, April 14

by Annette Bedford
"The Worlds of  Peace"

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.       –Colossians 3:15-16

There are two worlds for which peace is sought:  the outside world and our inner, personal world. This inner peace, which enhances our relationship with God, is a means for shifting our attention away from ourselves to where Christ has called us: to love the Lord’s creation held within ourselves and to love one another. The path to peace is peace, an awareness of a beautiful presence, one we feel in our hearts, our bodies and our minds. Scripture reminds us that God desires peace for all, which means our having a personal and meaningful relationship with the Almighty as well as a similar relationship with the world outside. Inner peace is the means for deepening this relationship with our Lord and Savior.

We cannot forget that we belong to one another; if we forget, we can have no inner peace nor can we bring peace to the world. Our inner peace relates to how we see ourselves, not to how others might see or what they may demand of us.  We strive faithfully to achieve a sense of calm and quiet, through meditation, reading of Scripture, singing of hymns, being in the midst of the community of faith. This is the peace of God and is often very different from the world around us.

Inner peace is the foundation for our relationship with God and the way we envision the outer world.  “Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us  …”  (Dag Hammarskjold, Markings.) Personal, inner peace is the only means of building a world of peace.

Blessed, indeed, are the peacemakers, for they are truly the children of God.


Lift in prayer today
Loaves & Fishes, providing a week’s worth of groceries
to those experiencing life crises