The seventh instalment of your YPN conference blog series is brought to you by Sarah Hine from the Darvell Community in Sussex. Here she describes every day protest for God and challenges us to live out the peace of Jesus.
Living Out Peace
It is easy to talk about peace when you live in a safe neighbourhood and have continual access to
food and water. But what if you have only known war and can’t remember the last time you ate a
good meal? Can peace be a reality in our world torn by war and emptied of hope? God is always in
control, despite the terror and catastrophe splashed across the headlines each day, He has a great
and wonderful plan for this earth.
True and lasting peace is not brought about by our human efforts but by God’s Spirit. Does that
mean we can relax and live our lives in heedless indifference while we wait for this to happen?
Absolutely not! If we consider ourselves to be followers of Jesus we must spend every day of our
lives working for peace in whatever way we can.
Jesus tells us: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.’
(John 14:27) If we want that peace we must be willing to live like He did. We have to follow Jesus’
example of unconditional and sacrificial love. It can be as simple as visiting an elderly neighbour,
giving a cup of water, feeding the poor or caring for a child. It may be forgiving someone who has
wronged us, speaking up for the oppressed, going the second mile when we would rather not budge
an inch, or simply saying sorry. The power of this world is built on selfishness, so every unselfish
deed we do is an act of protest. These actions must be rooted in a life of prayer, prayer for true
peace which is indeed the Kingdom of God on this earth. In fact, anything we do for others can be a
prayer, whether we realise it or not.
The Kingdom of God is not just a glorious future when the whole world will be at peace. It can break
into our lives at any moment, filling our hearts with unexplainable peace even in the most difficult
circumstances. A life of forgiving, loving and caring for others is prophetic because it exemplifies the
Kingdom of God.
Find out more about community at Darvell on their website.