As I was reading over the last part of the today's small group lesson in preparation for Sunday School, a question was posed by the authors, "What steps can we take to seek God instead of our own ideas for peace?"
Three ideas were listed: 1. Read and meditate on Psalm 46; 2. Spend a significant portion of time alone in prayer and worship; 3. Get involved with a group or ministry that seeks to bring spiritual peace into the lives of others.
As I was thinking about the list, Christ's example in John 13 came to mind. It is here we find Jesus just hours away from his betrayal which leads to his torture and crucifixion. He is not holed up somewhere feeling sorry for himself. He is not on the next camel out of town to save his own skin. We find Christ breaking bread with his disciples and washing their feet.
Much has been written about the foot washing, but regardless of all the social and organizational implication of the act, just the mere fact that Christ was aware of his fate but was still focused on others is amazing. In the next chapter, Christ is comforting his disciples. In chapter 17, Jesus prays for his disciples.
Life for Jesus Christ is about to come to a horrifying, unjust, unimaginabley painful end, but his greatest concern is the peace, comfort, and salvation of others. Even when on the cross, he reaches out to a thief, his mother, and his accusers.
If we are to follow Christ's example, then reaching out to others during times of personal crisis seems like a pretty good plan.
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