Making Peace
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
Romans 12:18, Revelation 7:9-12
9 After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, 10 as they shouted, “Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb.” 11 The angels who stood around the throne knelt in front of it with their faces to the ground. The elders and the four living creatures knelt there with them. Then they all worshiped God 12 and said, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!”
Revelation 7:9-12
Memory Verse
Psalm 133:1
1 It is truly wonderful when the people of God live together in peace.
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. In the United States, on the second Monday in October, Indigenous Peoples' Day honors Native American peoples’ histories and cultures. These days are for everyone to think about Indigenous friends from First Nation, Metis, and Inuit communities and to think about how unfairly they've been treated and how unfairly they're still treated. They are days to start trying to make things better, and that’s called reconciliation. So how do we start doing that?
Have you ever done something you had to say you were sorry for? It can be hard to say, “I’m sorry for what I did.” We might say the words but don’t really mean it in our hearts. We don't actually feel sorry or think it is our fault at all. We might even want to hide or blame someone else, maybe even the person we hurt.
Saying sorry is only one part of what God asks us to do when he calls us to "live together in unity." Living in unity means that we will also do what’s needed to make things right.
What if your mom or dad asked you to “Go make peace” instead of “Go say you’re sorry”? Would that look different? Would you feel different? Making peace is an act of love. Our hearts and minds actually have to focus on God’s love to make peace. His love helps us to make a real change that moves us closer to unity.
Making things right can take time because we have to work on a relationship that has been broken. It can feel like a job too big for us, but God is all about making things new again. That’s called renewal, and Creator God invites us into his story for the renewal of all people and all creation.
We can trust him to help us to make things right again.
Prayer
Creator God, thank you for making many kinds of people who have different ways of life. Please help us to celebrate our differences, and help us to say sorry and make peace even when it is hard. Show us moments when we need to be kinder and gentler so we can live in unity with those around us. Thank you, Jesus, Amen.
Prayer
Creator God, thank you for making many kinds of people who have different ways of life. Please help us to celebrate our differences, and help us to say sorry and make peace even when it is hard. Show us moments when we need to be kinder and gentler so we can live in unity with those around us. Thank you, Jesus, Amen.Related Resources
Agnes Mastin and Holly Sperling
Agnes Mastin was born to the Tse’khene Nation of McLeod Lake, BC in Canada. After coming to Christ, she immediately began her journey to find where her culture and faith in Christ could meet. Holly Sperling comes from a mixed European and Metis heritage of Manitoba. As a Christian educator, Holly loves to journey with her students as they discover their identity in Creator God. Both writers currently live, work and worship in Edmonton, Alberta. They believe God created people of different cultures, because he loves diversity in all things, and he delights in being worshiped and served in all kinds of ways by every tribe, nation and tongue.