Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
The Umpire of Your Life
When Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, he told them to have the peace of Christ ruling in their hearts. The word for “rule” is the same word that in the Greek means to “umpire” (brabeuō), so we can say that God wants Christ’s own peace to be the umpire in charge of our heart because, as Paul writes, that’s the very reason we were called into “one body,” or the church. An umpire has the final say on all that happens, and Jesus wants to be the umpire in our hearts so that we’ll not only have peace of mind but peace will rule or reign in our hearts. That’s what Jesus wants to do in our lives today and every day.
Jesus’ Kind of Peace
The world offers a shallow, temporary peace, much like the cease-fires that often don’t last long before guns start blazing again, but the peace that Jesus gives is nothing like what the world gives. His peace calms our hearts and quenches our fears (John 14:27). Since Jesus is God, you want a God-peace, not a peace that is offered by the world. It’s the kind of peace that surpasses all human understanding and acts as a guard for both our minds and our hearts (Phil 4:7). The world makes all kinds of promises, but God comes through every time He says something. If Jesus says that we can have His own peace, don’t you want that?
He Is our Peace
Jesus wants us to let Him rule or reign in our hearts so that He can establish His perfect peace in us since He Himself is our peace (Eph 2:14). This peace was the most expensive peace ever bought, requiring the payment of His own blood (Rom 5:8), and by it we have been reconciled to God through His suffering and death (Rom 5:10). This sacrifice created a peace between us and God (Rom 5:1). Where there was once the wrath of God on us (John 3:36b), now there’s no more fear of condemnation for our sins (Rom 8:1). Shouldn’t that kind of knowledge allow peace to reign or rule in our hearts?
A Closing Prayer
Righteous, Sovereign God, thank You for Jesus’ own sacrifice of Himself, which made a way for us to have peace with You. Please help me to have this peace–Jesus’ own peace–so that it can rule supreme in my life and guard my heart and mind. For the glory of Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
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