A Peace That Transcends All Understanding

Sometimes, I have to admit, the promised peaceful life that is bestowed upon believers is not true of me -- especially with regards to the everyday, little inconveniences that should be brushed off. 

This past Friday, someone bumped my car while it was parked in the lot. It actually was the best case situation: the offending individual left a note and phone number, and nobody was hurt. I called the police, filed a claim, my car is getting repaired, all is well. As far as car accidents go, it was about as smooth as they come. Except, not really.

Yes, I was patient and optimistic all through Friday. I made the phone calls I needed to make, I carried on, etc. etc. But things changed today when I went to go drop off my car for repair. The inconveniences piled up, and by noon I was raging about the fact that: 1) I had to wake up an hour earlier. 2) I had to spend my precious gas to drive across the river to one of the "approved" repair shops. 3) I was not first in line and thus had to wait, making me 10 minutes late for work. 4) I had to get a rental, which is a lesser quality, older car with fewer features than my precious, brand-spanking new 2016 Hyundai Elantra. 5) I had to purchase outside insurance for the rental car, which I wouldn't have needed had my own car been intact. 6) I actually didn't need to purchase the outside insurance, but the insurance companies didn't open until after I was at the dealer. 7) Now I have to go all the way back there, using more gas, to prove that I haven't damaged the rental car in the past 2 hours its been in my possession in order to waive the insurance policy. 

Sigh.

Doesn't that just make me sound like a spoiled, rotten, brat? What's even worse is that it felt so darn good to pound out my frustrations in raging text evidence of how I have been wronged. 

Yes, I'm the victim, right? Poor me - I have a beautiful car to drive; I live among honest community members who leave notes instead of anonymous dents and scratches; insurance policies are available that cover the costs associated with the damage to my car; I have a free rental car while my car is being fixed without cost to me; I don't actually have to pay to insure the rental car. 

After nearly losing my cool on the phone when talking to the rental company (again), I heard a faint whisper about peace - that transcends all understanding and guards hearts and minds in Christ (Philippians 4:7). I responded, "Yeah, where's my peace?" The classic, indignant response of an ungrateful child who feels that the world owes her something. But slowly, the rest of that passage emerged from the deep place it was hidden away in my heart - the preceding verse: Philippians 4:6 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in all things, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." The first step? It's on me - don't be anxious. Pray. Be thankful. Next? Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is lovely, what ever is good, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things and the God of peace will be with you."

Wow. That's rough truth, without the rainbows, butterflies, unicorns and candy that I wished were present. No - for patience and peace, I have responsibility. That responsibility, then, is to follow along the path that God has instructed me: to focus on what is good, righteous and true. Pray. Give thanks for my blessings, not my burdens. Then and ONLY THEN, do I receive that peaceful presence of God. 

That, my friends, is conviction. I am guilty before God not because of my behavior, but because of the condition of my heart. 

Political Correctness

The past couple weeks, a group has been coming to my university campus to preach, but their method of doing so is much different than what I'm accustomed to: in your face, flushed shouting, repent-of-your-sins, look-at-my-sign kind of preaching.

 

The first time I saw them last week, I brushed them off, kind of gritted my teeth and tried to pretend that I wasn't embarrassed. The second time, I approached one of them (the one sitting quietly in the corner) and asked them if they actually thought that what they were doing was effective. (I was noticing more folks getting offended than convicted...)

Today, I went right up to them and started talking. The thing is, I agree with what they're saying. They are preaching truth, from the bible, God-breathed words. I felt very uneasy from the first day that I saw them preaching because I am a people-pleaser, and I didn't think it was very kind to yell at folks.

This is more along the lines of what I'm accustomed to: playing music, engaging people, sharing the good news and God's grace. But just as shouting about hell fire is only half of the gospel, grace is only half. Both topics are one half of a whole truth that people need to hear. 

So today I perched myself by the engineering fountain and started up a conversation with a man in a plaid shirt and suspenders about what they were doing, the effectiveness of evangelism, and fear of God vs grace of God preaching. As someone who takes special care to be politically correct, I had a lot of questions for folks whose whole ministry is based on violating social norms.

Things I learned:

• Their goal was to make a scene. They weren't being 100% serious. Yes, they fully believed the truth behind their words, but they were trying to be satirical, trying to be something that stuck out in people's memories, trying to make a scene for the sake of it. They wanted people to remember "those religious nuts" because deep down, people have an awareness of their sin. When the time comes, maybe they will turn to God.
• Grace is important, once we realize we need it - people who think they have a problem or don't think they have a penalty to pay don't understand how important it is when someone else pays that penalty.
• Grace is important - from my own experience, I've learned that many people actually are aware of their need. Being real with people about the consequences of unconfessed sin is important, once they realize that accepting Jesus is worth it because of his Grace. When people first come to Jesus, it's because they need something.
• A christian is a christian - I have friends who were really offended by these preachers, but at the end of the day, there need not be division. We are united by Christ, and that is reason enough to befriend each other. Disagreeing about evangelism techniques is not enough to fight with one another. 

We live in a world where in a class discussion about how to make friends after college, nobody suggests a local church. We dwell among a fallen people who need Jesus. However you choose to do so, open your mouth.