The world in which we live is in a ‘natural’ state of war with God and with itself. The one thing humanity needs more than anything else, right now, is peace with God – a prerequisite to enjoying personal inner peace, and relational peace with everyone else… including those who are offside with us!

Peace with God, and with others, has been/is being accomplished for us by God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6, Ephesians 2:14a).

Our God-commissioned roles as ‘peacemaker’ instruments has us being used by God throughout our earthly lives in the making, maintaining, restoring, and the preservation of relational peace, in both the divine and human dimensions.  

Friends, if we don’t have peace in our relationship with others then something is amiss in our relationship with God. This is where my friend John Connors was positioned. Because he wasn’t at peace with several members of his former church, he wasn’t at peace with God… He was a troubled and joyless individual.

It’s important to understand that genuine peace cannot result through just the cessation of hostility between warring parties but also requires the presence of love (in-action, not just words). Although John was not hating his offenders, he wasn’t loving them! In reality, although a 20-years truce had been in place where no shots had been exchanged by either side, the battle was not yet over!

Through our God-scripted fellowship times, John’s humbleness and teachability made it possible for him to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice, urging him to forgive his offenders, as Christ had forgiven him. It wasn’t long before John quietly obeyed the Spirit’s counsel by forgiving them. And, upon doing so, the peace of God flooded his heart and he felt set-free from his 20 years of self-imprisonment! Ruth now had her dearest, John, beside her once again at church!

Of my time at Dungog, I will forever treasure being used by God as a peacemaker to help a needy friend, John Connors, make peace with God and with others… his neighbours. In the world in which we live there are many ‘John Connor’ types of people who are suffering unnecessarily through not enjoying God’s peace that is available to them. All they need is a peacemaker like you and me to be willing to come to their rescue. When next you see a conflicted friend, please resist the natural tendency to turn away from them, instead, turn to God.

(P.S. It wasn’t long before John was invited by the church to serve as a Deacon!)