A Different Way to Make Peace

I like to think of myself as a peace-maker. I, like most, do not like confrontation. I am generally quick to resolve personal disputes and try to help others come together to settle their disputes. Often times I try to do it too quickly, when others need some time to meditate on their actions.

Even professionally, whether serving as an attorney or a real estate broker, a regular part of what I do includes helping people reach agreement (e.g., settling a contract dispute, negotiating the sale of a house, etc.). Of course, attempting to bring "peace" to personal or business hostilities has a lot of hurdles to overcome: personalities, hurt feelings, distrust, etc. In bringing people together, we need to think of the best possible solutions, we need to present them in a non-offensive way and at the most appropriate time. My attempts sometimes even exacerbate the problem. It's a fragile thing...trying to bring peace.

Reading and meditating through Colossians caused me to see the weakness of human efforts at peace-making. I'm not saying we shouldn't strive at it, but there is no guaranty that it will deal with all the nooks and crannies of the problem and there is not guaranty that it will be permanent. I mean how many times have resolutions proven to be ineffective because forgiveness was not truly given, hurts were not forgotten, and just simply sinful people rip open old wounds. This weakness of our trying to resolve differences is not because Colossians says as much, but rather because it presents the model of perfect peace-making.

Consider Colossians 1:19-22: "For in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him."

Jesus is shown as bringing about peace in a different way. He doesn't resolve hostilities by sitting the opponents down and talking through their problems in order to reach a compromise, like in a legal mediation. The opponents are God and His creatures. God is perfectly holy and men are perfectly sinful. Look at the description of men's sin: "alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds."Jesus doesn't broker an agreement for men to be semi-sinful and God to be okay with that. Instead, Jesus takes matters into His own hands and resolves the hostility Himself. In effecting this reconciliation, Jesus performed a monumental peace-achieving event: He had men slay His sinless body (i.e., with its fullness of Deity) in order to bring about supernatural reconciliation. The offenders' sins are recognized as such and paid for. God's holiness is respected and appeased.

My way of bringing about peace: "How can I bring about compromise?"

Jesus' way of bringing about peace: "Men will never change, so I'll buy them with my death."

This different way of reconciliation deals with every hidden corner in a man and deals with it in a permanent way. After Jesus reconciles a man, they are presented "holy and blameless and above reproach." Praise Jesus, the unique and perfect Peace-Maker.