Colossians 3:15 (NET)
“Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.”
Such a short and sweet verse holding in it a profound statement! Let the peace of Christ be in control of your heart. As we have been looking through Colossians 3, we have seen the virtues that we should be holding on to as Christ followers (I have been calling them articles of Spiritual clothing). Here is a list that we have covered in the past few posts:
Heart of mercy
Kindness
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Forgiveness
Love
And now we will discuss peace as a virtue for those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Peace seems to be a disposition that can be so influential as we live it. I know for me to be around someone that is at peace, it really takes my anxiety level way down and I find myself having that same peacefulness before long too. It is kind of like when a small child is having a crying fit, sometimes putting their ear up to your mouth as you take in deep breathes and exhale slowly can calm the crying baby down, or the comforting words of a parent whose child is fearful of something and they hear the words, “It is going to be ok.” and it is enough to calm their fears. We have all sensed it (at least I hope that we all have), and it is truly remarkable the impact that peace can have on us. Jesus is, and should be, that peaceful voice of assurance through any of life’s circumstances or situations.
The opposite of peace is chaos. Now inside of chaos it can be many different things like; war, noise, conflict, unrest, fear, striving, discord, disruption, activity, tension, to name a few. To have a chaotic spirit is also very influential (although I do believe that a peace-filled person can have a more impactful influence on a situation) and for those of us who have to fight to rid ourselves of it, we must apply this verse to our memory and and recite it often!
The peace of Christ
The peace that Christ brings is one that goes beyond comprehension (see Phil 4:7). It is the type of peace that is able to look into any circumstance or situation and have a calm confidence that God is with us and that we are never out of His reach.
I think it will be helpful to look at another passage that will go far to explain this idea of peace, it is found in Philippians 4:6-8. Here is what it says, “Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.”
In this passage we can see that prayer is the antidote to anxiety. The reason for this is because we who seek God through prayer understand that it is only through Him that we will have the solution to life’s many problems! I also like that it mentions thanksgiving here and in our original verse, Col 3:15, because gratitude trumps complaint, and complaint is the prerequisite of chaos (in my humble opinion)! I believe that may be one reason that Paul tells the Philippians to think about things that are are beneficial and not to get caught up in thinking about things that will take us into a place of anxiety and chaos in our minds. Our thought processes are what make up our character, and if they are corrupted and plagued by a constant barrage of negativity and chaos then our actions will show that very quickly! We need to engage this battle of the mind with things that are right, true, noble, pure, just, and so-on. When we get our stinkin’ thinkin’ in order (BTW- order is the essence of peace, disorder is the absence of it) then we will start to experience this sort of peace.
What is it that rules your heart?
Luke 6:45 says, “The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.” I believe that Jesus is giving us a clue on whether we know if we are at peace or not with this statement. How do you speak? What are you saying often to yourself and others? Is it full of peace, or does what you say have a negative and chaotic tone to it? What we say is a byproduct of what is controlling our hearts. Col 3:15 tells us to allow the peace of Christ to rule our hearts. So, when we speak this should be evident – Christ is in control in my life and I submit everything to Him as my Lord!
I think the significance of “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” is one that; explains the peace that you can feel when you get a diagnosis, the peace that you can feel when you need wisdom because of a situation in your life that is very complex, the peace that you can feel when a relationship looks like it’s starting to come unglued, the peace that you can feel when you really have no idea how to proceed forward. Christ is all in all, and he should be the One that’s directing our thought patterns, our life actions, and our overall character.
Jesus is the picture of peace. When He was on trial, being questioned and wrongfully accused, it says in the word of God that He did not open His mouth but that He was quiet and He accepted the will of God for Him at that time. I think that is a good example for us to follow. As it says in Philippians 2:5, “our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”!
I think for me, I have come to realize that whatever I am thinking about often, it is this thought that is in control of me at that time. I believe that’s what this Scripture is saying, allow your mind to be consumed with Christ. When our minds are consumed with Christ, then our actions and attitudes will reflect that by having a peace that goes beyond all understanding and comprehension as we live our life of faith. At this point I am reminded of Galatians 2:20 where it says, “I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who lives it’s Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me”. The peace of Christ is really a byproduct of living your life by faith. Faith as it’s described in Hebrews chapter 11 verse one is the confidence of things that are not yet seen and the assurance of the hope that we can have in Christ.
I understand that there are situations in your life right now that you are facing that you don’t know the answer to, That have got you full of anxiety, that are causing you to question even the very faith that you were trying to hold onto. But it is in these times that we must allow the peace that comes as a child of God to rule our hearts and to define our character.
I hope that you can find the peace that goes beyond all understanding and allow it to rule your heart today.
May God’s love and affection bless you richly in the coming days!