Lord Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

Greetings Dear Reader,

Christ made it clear that there is blessing in making peace.  Paul urged us to live peaceably with all men.  I see those who call themselves Christians sewing so much contention and doing so much to withhold peace from others.  I used to be that way.  I always looked for a bone of contention to pick.  It is no doubt that we are to be those who provide peace for others.

What is really delving into my brain about this line is the thought that I am to be an instrument of peace made by God.  The binary meaning of this word is so far reaching to me.  I am to be a tool for peace.  I am not just an ordinary tool but a precision tool.  The nature of a precision tool, an instrument is that it is efficient and accurate.  I must become such in my following Christ that God may use me deftly to create peace.  I am to be so yielded to the Father that in his hands he may easily work out more peace in the world.

I am also to be instrument for peace in that the song I put into the world is sweet and pacifying.  How can I do this if I allow anger or contention to have sway over me?  If my will and wants are paramount to me that will contend with following Christ and my song will be sour.  If I proudly demand my own way in things then my song will be selfish and harsh.  If I judge others or rail against them there is not music in me.  If my actions and words are not peaceful then how can I hope to put out a peaceful song?  There is nothing worth fighting over with those I am supposed to love.  If I let my life and actions speak my beliefs then I will not need to fight or argue.

I am not talking about an empty pacifism here but rather working toward peace by setting aside my own pride and self-interest.  I must see others as of value and in need of my full respect no matter where they are on the journey to God.  I only know a few lines of another’s song and must only harmonize not interrupt them.

If I see Christ as all that I follow then I can manage a level of inner peace that makes that which surrounds me manageable as well.  How I respond to the things around me makes me either an instrument for peace or for contention.  Since I long to be in the hands of the Father I must choose peace.  He will not wield me if I produce contention.  He will not produce a sweet song through me if my notes are not peaceful. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. – Saint Francis of Assisi

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."