So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27
Therefore, since faith has justified us, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
Peace through Knowing
Knowingly answer these three questions. The operative word here is "Know."
Who are you?
Whose are you?
What is your purpose?
The Hebrew root yada [[;d"y], translated "know"/"knowledge, " appears almost 950 times in the Hebrew Bible. It has a broader sweep than our English word "know, " including perceiving, learning, understanding, willing, performing, and experiencing. To know is not to be intellectually informed about some abstract principle but to apprehend and experience reality. Knowledge is not the possession of information but rather its exercise or actualization. From Bible Study Tools
Who are you?
I've discovered that most people do not know who they are.
If one is not born again, they are determined by themselves, usually defined through their experiences, opinions, etc.
They are what they believe they or others created them to be.
I once lived this way. My life was like a Western movie set. A facade that functioned for appearances and was destined to be destroyed after the last act.
Whose are you?
One of the greatest 'straight jackets' in satan's arsenal is deceiving God's children about their identity.
Doubt it?
Look at his temptations of Jesus.
"If you are the Son of God, then..."
His frontal attack wasn't Jesus' belly; it was His identity!
As those called to follow, we are bound up if we do not know we are his children.
God says we are holy, blameless, and set apart, but many still believe the lies of our now-dead life!
That is why when we wake up daily recognizing we are sons and daughters of our Abba Father, everything changes.
When we know Whose we are, we know who we are, which leads us to clearly understand our purpose for living.
What is your purpose?
Paul stated the goal of his instruction was love, and the only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love.
If God so loved the world, He gave His son, Jesus; His purpose is love.
God demonstrated His love to us while sinners; Christ died for us.
God is love.
Father means "To come forth from."
Therefore, if we are created by the Father, who gives us our identity and purpose, then our purpose is love.
Period.
It isn't trying to be a "better" Christian but being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, Who is love.
It is becoming love.
Our great purpose is always present and originates from our being.
The beauty of this purpose is that there is nowhere or time that it isn't a reality.
We may not always be conscious of this reality, but it is Reality.
A fact that we can choose to walk in moment by moment.
Do you intimately know the answers to each question?
Who are you?
Whose are you?
What is your purpose?
If not, what do you need to decide is true? (Decide comes from the same root word as homicide. It means to kill off all other choices.)
Lord, how beautiful are Your ways. Thank you for giving us new birth, life, identity, and purpose to love because You love through us. Amen