The Work of Peace-Keeping – Fourth Commandment

The Work of Peace-Keeping

Exodus 20.8-10; Deuteronomy 5.12-14

“Remember the Sabbath day, observe it, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.”

Ephesians 4.3

…working hard to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (my translation).

Blessed are the peace-makers.

A second component of the work God has given us to do, beyond the jobs at which we work, is the work of making peace. Because we have peace with God, we know peace in our own souls. God intends to use us to sow and share His peace, so that the shalom of God can grow and expand to embrace and nurture all the people in our personal sphere of influence. Paul says this is hard work. So much is militating against people being at peace: their individual fears and troubles, the slights and resentments of others, pressures and problems of various kinds. People tend toward becoming anxious – which is one reason so many use anti-depressant drugs – when God intends for us to know peace. We work at peace through the practice of prayer with thanksgiving, and by leading others to pray this way as well (Phil. 4.6, 7). But we are also called to live at peace with all men, to minimize the things that annoy, irritate, or offend others and to concentrate instead on being a presence of grace and peace around them (cf. Rom. 12.16-21). The hard part of making peace is that you have to do it with people who may not be inclined to seek peace, but who relish their misery and want to spread it around to as many people as they can (Ps. 120.5-7). But this just makes the Lord’s day all that more enjoyable. For on that day we can draw back from making peace with or among others and devote ourselves to resting and being refreshed in the peace we have with God. And we’ll need to do that faithfully, because every week the work of peace-making will resume in earnest.

In what ways do you find yourself involved in peace-making with others? Is this something you consciously seek to do? Should it be?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.