Peace, Love, Bellbottoms

We had a friend (back in the day) who always used the phrase "Peace, Love, Bellbottoms." Well, he's still a friend, but I haven't heard him say that in over 40 years. I'm pretty sure he doesn't use it anymore. Never really understood why those three items went together. Peace and love of course were words that were really tossed around during the 60's and early 70's, and I guess he just added the bellbottoms for fun. It was fun to say it. I think maybe there is much more to the first two words of the phrase than it seems. Since I'm thinking about peace for the first few weeks of 2013, (I started to write 19.. something. Little behind huh?) I had a subject to use for this post. My dear friend and mentor gave me some cherished advice that I took her up on. Had something to do with patience. Consequently, the subject I chose disappeared. I love it when God chooses the subject because everything just falls into place. Peace is a subject that can't be dealt with lightly, nor can it be dealt with simply. So, this may take some time. To begin with let's think about love. Take yourself back, however long, to the beginning stages of a romance you remember. Remember those feelings of complete absorption, longing, desire? I remember if I went more than a few hours without talking to him or seeing him I was not happy. I wanted to be with him constantly. I would have done close to anything to be with him. It was the number one thing. That's what God wants in our relationship with Him. He loves us so much, desires to be close to us so much that He gave His son to allow that to happen. For all of us. For any of us. He wants to be our first thought in the morning and our last thought at night. And.....He wants to be a zillion thoughts in between. I know I checked with my husband for every decision back in the first days. Wanted his opinion on everything. That's what God wants. He wants us to be so in tune with Him that His opinion is asked for every question, His approval is sought in every action. It would be a real cop-out for me to just say okay, now to have peace, you just love God. Commit to Christ and love Him and you'll have peace. Maybe for some people it works that way. But it didn't work that way for me. I have a personality that doesn't quite conform just because someone tells me it's the best thing. And I can't fake it very well either (OK, stop laughing....you know who you are!). I am also a terrible liar. Oh, I can lie all right, but I'm terrible at it. Almost always get caught in a horribly embarrassing way. The Bible has a tremendous number of scriptures about peace, but many times the relationship of peace and love is not clearly stated. It is, however, implied. Just like that new love you had when you first met, the devotion and abiding are what satisfy. They are what give peace. Job 22:21 (KJV) says "Aquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee." The Message says to "Give in to God", and the NIV asks us to "Submit to God". Aquaint, give in, submit. All words that show actions much like our early love relationships. The word peace used in this passage comes from the Hebrew "shalam", which means rest,being well, happy, to be safe. When I think about peace, I think about feeling safe. Being calm, no matter what. Another meaning for 'shalam' is to be completed. Doesn't that conjure up feelings of peacefullness? It does for me. Having a deep love relationship with Christ is not something you decide to do, sit down and say "I love you Lord", and then it happens. It's so much more than that, and it takes some steps and some time. I hope you join me next time when we will go a little deeper with this love thing. Happy New Year! May you find your peace this year. Psalms 85:10 (NIV) - Love and faithfulness meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other.

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