A Road Map Of Peace

Introduction:

Nations at war are slugging it on the anvil of negotiations and treaties to draft a road map of peace. Peace among warring nations is seldom achieved, rarely maintained. Peace, as biblically understood, denotes not only quietness and rest. It also offers a connotation of prosperity and well being. Thus, the mid-eastern culture of peace-greetings explains.

Peace is still a rare commodity. Each sober individual wants peace of mind, but not many are living with it. If there is an absolute-cum-definite guideline to achieve peace, I bet it’s going to be my all-day-round, say, 24/7 gadget.

In terms of peace of mind, a road map of peace can only be drafted by our attitude in life. It is never our situations that draft it. I say, never.

Proposition:

There are several aspects in our lives that would draft a clear and detailed road map of peace:

1. The Quality of our Prayers.

2. The Reality of our Principles.

3. The Clarity of our Practices.

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Philippi, gave us a clear road map of peace.

A Road Map of Peace can be drafted by..….

1. The Quality of our Prayers!

Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How many believers make use of their prayer time to air their grievances? I say, more than ever thought, really. The quality of our prayers would sketch the blueprint of peace in our lives.

First,

a. Our prayers should be a Gesture of Trust and Diligence.

This is the quality of prayer that would break anxieties. It is through our in-depth and constant meditation of God’s Word that makes us immovable in our trust.

Second,

b. Our prayers should be a Posture of Thanks and Confidence.

This is the quality of prayer that would build security. There is always reason to be thankful. And is you are really thankful, confidence is a twin of gratitude.

Illustration:

There is a certain place under the sea that is called “the cushion of the sea”. It is where the sea creatures are not disturbed by any storm on the surface. Regardless of the fierce waves and winds, the place is never disturbed. Our prayers should be just like the “cushion of the sea”. For peace is not something that our situations produce, rather it is a product of our heart reflected by our character.

Peace is something that you can hide in your heart, rather than something that you can hold in your hands!

A Road Map of Peace can be drafted further by..….

2. The Reality of our Principles!

Php 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.

Do you care to know a person’s life principles? They could be the very things that an individual is constantly meditating upon – things that preoccupy the thought life. And there are several ways that we will be able to figure out…

First,

a. The Visible Activity of a person’s life

Man’s activities are, more often than not, clear outgrowth of his identity. We are known by our actuations.

Second,

b. The Invisible Quality of s person’s life

People label us by the very fabrics of our mental and moral make up. It is not our situations that count. It is the way we handle our situations, and resolve to make better.

Illustration:

Former US President Bill Clinton, Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin, and PLO Leader Yasser Arafat once hit the front pages with an impact. Their aim: “to draft a road map of peace” in the Middle East. That was the principle. It was real but yet to be achieved.

Peace is founded by what our Hearts can Believe; rather than what our Hands can Achieve!

A Road Map of Peace can also be drafted by…

3. The Clarity of our Practices!

Php 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Our daily practices are spawned by the virtues that re embedded as the core of our being – the hotbed of our very character. There are few springs of virtues that we can draw from…

First,

a. By the Virtues that we Receive from God’s Precepts…

The Word of God is fraught with all necessary precepts and principles that frame virtues that characterize our daily practices. It is just a matter of employing unfazed diligence in drawing from them.