Colossians 3:15 | The Rule of Peace
Who or what rules your heart? Who runs the show, calls the shots, and keeps the desires and longings of the heart in line? Our inner worlds are often hard to understand. Some people are more naturally introspective than others, but regardless of our partiality to self-reflection, discerning the state of our hearts is a challenge. Remember that Jeremiah 17:9 ESV says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
With all this in mind, how do we respond to Paul’s command in Colossians 3:15 ESV, where he says, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
Letting peace rule seems like a great idea, but the path to true peace is often obscured. Have you ever been so busy in a season of life that you hardly had time to stop and consider what was ruling in your heart?
Have you ever been caught off-guard in a hectic dash by a friend or mentor checking in? I remember in college, I stepped into a professor’s office to say hello, and when they asked how I was doing, there was a sudden realization that I did not really know how my heart was doing. I experienced a wave of emotion and vulnerability as I came face to face with the call to inspect my inner world.
Sometimes the stress of life and the burdens we carry become so overwhelming that we check out. We put an emotional box around our concerns and try to avoid facing the pressures on us. In time, this avoidance leaves room for “rulers” to enter the political stage of our hearts. Fear, chaos, worry, pride, resentment, bitterness, and anger creep into our hearts, calling the shots and lobbying their arguments. Our ruler ceases to be peace.
This may perfectly describe your life right now. I invite you to receive the peace of Christ today. What is the peace of Christ? I think Paul outlined it perfectly in Ephesians 2:13-14 ESV, saying, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”
The peace of Christ came at a high cost when Christ gave himself on the cross to break the power of sin, death, and the devil. Now sin has no foothold in your life. Now death has no victory. Now the power of the enemy has completely washed away.
Christ died on the cross and defeated death and the grave so that he could offer his life-giving peace to you. How radical and overwhelmingly beautiful is it that the Prince of Peace desires to share his peace with you today? I encourage you to spend some time meditating on these verses. Read more of Ephesians 2:11-22.
Jesus, I thank you for giving your life on the cross and shedding your blood so I could live in peace. I confess that I don’t always know how to let peace rule in my heart. I acknowledge that I have allowed other voices to take charge of my heart, but I know that your peace leads me to the greatest freedom and life. Help me receive your peace and surrender my burdens to you. Thank you for your invitation to live in freedom.
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