Live Peaceably
In Romans 12:18, Paul gives a command that many of us a familiar with: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Live peaceably with all makes sense to many of us. Avoid conflict, overlook things that frustrate you, don’t rock the boat. These are things that help us get along in polite society.
But getting along with others isn’t really what this verse means in its context. Listen to verse 9 at the beginning of this section, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good.” Or verse 14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and not curse them.” Or verse 20, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” Plopped right in the middle of this context is our verse, “so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
I don’t think this verse in context is about avoiding conflict. Rather, I think this is a call to live out Jesus’s command that we love our neighbors as ourselves. The passage is full of commands about how a Christian’s love for God flows out into his actions toward others. And at the center of the passage is our line about living in peace with those around us. When God is our first love, and we love them like he does, we can have true peace with others. In light of that, my exhortation to us this morning is to live peaceably in the world by growing in your love and trust of God.
Think about it, when your heart genuinely loves something, it’s easy to spend time doing it. We love our kids, we go to their games, their performances, and their school events. When they get a hit or perform their solo, we’re not scowling or griping about what a sacrifice we’re making on their behalf. No, we love them and we want what is best for them!
Peace with others comes when we can embrace God’s love for another person even when we don’t share that feeling. It causes us to sacrifice and even celebrate when someone else gets a win. Peace with others comes when we love for what is good even when we aren’t the one receiving the good. If we want to “live peaceably with all” we need to get comfortable ‘loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.’
If loving others in your life seems like a difficult thing to put into practice right now, let me encourage you with the first greatest commandment. Right before he tells his followers to love others like they love themselves, Jesus gave this command, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Before we can love others horizontally, we have to grow in our love and trust for God himself. You can’t love others with the genuine love that God has for them if you have a small view of the love God has for you. Remember God’s love for you in the gospel, that when you were a sinner far from grace, God loved you, he valued you, and he sacrificed for you. Remember God’s love for you now, that he is at work in your life sustaining you, persevering you in your faith, and sanctifying you from your sins.
True peace in our relationships doesn’t come from simply avoiding conflict. It comes from love. When God is our first love, and we love others like he does, we can have true peace with them. In light of that, live peaceably in the world by growing in your love and trust of God.