Advent (Peace): Waging Peace

“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt 

As we enter the second week of the season of Advent, we turn our thoughts to peace.  It has been stated many times, but it certainly bears repeating: Peace is not merely the absence of conflict.

Peace is the active, living presence of love, tranquility, kindness and compassion.

We are living in a world that hungers for peace, so why is it so elusive?  Every one of us has felt pain or grief, every life has been in some way touched by tragedy.  And, though I truly believe that peace resides at the core of every human soul, it can be so difficult to resist falling back on anger and depression when the terrain of our life’s journey becomes arduous and burdensome.

The one thing that peace has in common with war is that it must be waged.  When darkness surrounds us, we must be diligent in our commitment to resisting picking up a weapon, lashing out in anger, or giving in to despair.  Not just on a national or global scale, but on an individual, personal level.  We must be dedicated to actively creating a culture of peace within ourselves, within our homes, and within our communities.  Only then will we begin to see a shift toward peace in the culture of the nation, and eventually the world.  Over the next week, as we reflect on the impact and the many facets of Peace, we will explore ways to address this idea of “living peace” in every aspect of our lives.

The capacity for peace resides within each of us, perhaps dormant, but always awaiting our conscious awareness, dedicated to awakening it and allowing it to shine forth into the world.

~ Christiana 

 

Do you find this devotional thoughtful?  If so, please consider using the buttons below and – via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or other social media – sharing it with your friends.

This entry was posted in Advent, Peace and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *