Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. - Hebrews 12:14
Over the past years God has been working in me to learn how to seek forgiveness for when I have wronged people or when my thoughts towards them have been unkind and uncharitable. There are times, even when we mean well, that it is possible to allow our thoughts and attitudes to become unloving. When we realize this it becomes vital that we seek forgiveness from those whom we have judged, perhaps unfairly. For every believer there is the need to stop and ask the question...do I need to seek forgiveness from someone else? Or, do I need to forgive someone for the hurt they have caused me?
Why?
It is really very simple. As God says in Hebrews 12:14 - unless you are at peace with others and living a life of holiness you cannot truly experience the Lord. When you mislead, or slander, or in some other way fail to treat someone else with a Christlike spirit, then you harm you own relationship with God. When you have unholiness in your life, be it in your actions, attitudes or agendas, your relationship with God will suffer. Why do churches struggle to grow and see God's hand moving in powerful ways in their midst? I believe one of the reasons is that they are not living in peace with others and exemplifying a holy lifestyle. The church will get caught up in its programs and, dare I say it, policies and forget peace with God and man. The minister, myself included, will become wrapped up in their own feelings, fallacies and focuses and forget faithfulness to their call. And when we fail the Lord then we will miss out on so many of His blessings for our lives.
I most definitely do not want to miss out on the many great things He has in store for me and my family. So, I have come to realize that each of us must be willing to swallow our egos and pride and seek forgiveness and the power of God to live at peace with others and Him as well as to be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Notice that the writer of Hebrews talks about pursuing peace. It is a conscious choice, a proactive form of Godliness.
Dear Lord, make me pleasing in Your sight, holy in my walk and allow be to live at peace with those You have called me to serve.
When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his
enemies to be at peace with him. - Provers 16:17
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