14. Turn towards the way of Peace
WESLEY:
From evil words, from tale-bearing, backbiting and evil-speaking, how many evil works will naturally flow! Anger, jealousy, envy, wrong tempers of every kind, do not vent themselves merely in words, but push men continually to all kinds of ungodly and unrighteous actions. A plentiful harvest of trouble; l the works of darkness may be expected to spring from this source; whereby, in the end, thousands of souls, and not a few of those who once walked in the light of God's countenance, may be turned from the way of peace, and finally drowned in everlasting state of punishment.
PRAYER:
Colossians 1:18-20 - So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
REFLECTION:
Wesley speaks about turning from the way of peace. But what does peace look like in a church that holds diverse consciousness? We need clarity to what is the peace that our Lord brought forward on the Cross. And the peace we are called to bring forward. For me, Colossians speak of peace as “vibrant harmonies”. Not a singular harmony but a plethora of harmonies radiating so bright that the power of the Spirit is clear in our hearts. Harvest that peace, in the midst of our diversity, so that a vibrant Glory is reflected of our Lord. at
Further, Wesley is clearly saying, and I believe this, that disaffiliation will not bring quiet the consciousness of each soul within our community. As if a single view, a single rule or a single structure will stop the Spirit. Our tensions will continue. Within a single denomination or across N denominations. It is the suppression of our diverse consciousness that is “the species of schism” raising so much smoke on the path of peace. Let us seek clarity, even in the valley of death, so we may continue to walk in the light of God’s reflection (contenance) in our World.
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