And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you were called to live in peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15 NIV

For just about my entire life, I have been obsessed with 60s music. I remember riding to primary school and requesting “With The Beatles” and my dad’s “60s mix” CDs. I loved anthems of peace and love like “San Francisco (Flowers in Your Hair),” “All You Need is Love,” and “Give Peace a Chance.”

It’s easy to make “peace and love” your mantra, but Biblical peace is more than that. It’s not just the absence of war and conflicts, or inner tranquility; it’s taking action to restore a broken situation, it’s having wholeness and completeness (thanks to “Words of Faith, Hope, and Love” blog for teaching me that!) Biblical peace exists in three ways: peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace with others.

Peace with God is part of our salvation. Our sin makes us His enemy, but Jesus became human and died for crimes and sins He did not commit so that we could be forgiven and reconciled with Him.

Have you ever been at war with yourself? I struggle with imposter syndrome – thinking I’m not good at what I do or the things I’ve created and achieved are flukes or a stroke of good luck. There have been a couple times in my life where that lie overwhelmed me and I felt completely frozen. If you let it, lies Satan tells you about yourself will build walls between you and God you’ll be consumed by the shadowed darkness they create. I encourage you to find the truth God shares in His Word. Tell God you’ve cut Him off with your walls and you want to tear them down!

Peace with others might be the hardest kind of peace – we’re all sinners and we live in a broken world! It’s easier to say “I’m done” and walk away than to hang on and sort things out. Ask God to give you His eyes for the person you are in conflict with and to help you look “not only to your own interests, but to the interest of others” (Philippians 2:4). The One who reconciled with His broken creation is able to reconcile any relationship if you are willing.