Be Prepared

Walk into Every Room As A Peacemaker

Via The Joshua Commission

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. “ ~‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” ~Romans 12:15

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” ~Romans 12:18

Spiritual warfare came to our front doors this past week and I wasn’t prepared. As I’m sure you know Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week in a violent attack caught live on tape. That tape circulated around the internet. It seemed to play on an endless loop. His supporters, his opponents and America’s youth, and you and I had to deal with a flurry of emotions and find answers when asked “where do we go from here?” or “how do I explain this to my kids?” 

As I said, when it came to my door I wasn’t prepared, I did not support Charlie Kirk. Much of what he said and did offended me deeply. My first instinct was to put how I felt about his work, over how I felt about his life. This came to a head for me when TJC met on Saturday for our weekly call. We were taking prayer requests and a prayer for Charlie Kirk’s legacy came up and I objected. I can’t ever remember objecting to a prayer request before. This led to a heartfelt discussion among brothers. Then we prayed. During the prayer, I felt the Lord convict me, “a man is not his work. He is an image bearer of God”. After the prayer I told the group what God had just done. Despite not agreeing with Charlie Kirk, I will celebrate his life as a life worth living! 

God is good. He shows up.  He shows up in and through his people, my brothers even in the most difficult of times. He wrestles with us. He prepares us. So when I go into a room, when a Charlie Kirk, or any other hard or contentious situation is unfolding, maybe in the office, in my family or in my church, I will be prepared to be a peacemaker. From that posture I can uphold my MOS, mourn with those who mourn and be an effective member of the Body of Christ.