The Gospel of Peace

Peace and war are polar opposites.  But the two come together in a unique way when we consider the good news of Jesus Christ.  God's "warriors" are to prepare for battle by putting on the shoes of the "gospel of peace." (Ephesians 6:15)

This sounds strange.  Then again, much of what God does and says sounds strange from my human vantage point.  But the closer we look at the life of Jesus the more this makes sense.  Jesus made friends with the rejects of society in his time: people like tax collectors and prostitutes.  Why?

Jesus gives us the answer in Mark 2:17:  "It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”  The cast-offs where his targets. He treated them with love.  It worked.  They flocked to him.  They listened to his message and they believed.  So, why is it that so many people are repulsed at the notion of becoming a Christian?  Why is it that the prevailing perception of Christians is so negative?

Could it be that we drive our target audience away by the way we treat them?  Could it be that our judgmental way we treat unchurched people repels them?  God didn't call us to make war with unchurched people.  We are called to deliver the gospel of peace.

Carey Nieuwhof says, "Judgement is a terrible evangelism strategy.  People don't line up to be judged.  If you want to keep being ineffective at reaching unchurched people, keep judging them."  You can read Carey's entire blog post on this subject by clicking HERE.

Peace is our virtue this month in Kids Adventure.  Peace is messy.  Peace calls us to do things like:  stop judging people who don't believe like us, hang out with them, show them authentic love, pray for them.  It's time we change the perception the unchurched has of Christians.  It's time we start acting like the One who gave us our marching orders.  It's time we put feet to the Gospel of...peace!