Why should I apologize? It's not my fault...

Hebrews 12:14 "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord."

Bob and Karen were in the kitchen, caught up in a heated "discussion", unaware that 5 year old Krissy was standing in the doorway taking it all in. After a few minutes, Krissy loudly cleared her throat and demanded, "Mommy, Daddy, seek peace and pursue it! That means no fighting!!" With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. Her parents just looked at each other with their mouths hanging open at what they had just witnessed, and then they began to laugh. End of "discussion". Hebrews 12:14 had been Krissy's memory verse from school that week. "Out of the mouths of babes."

That experience has been repeated many times in my life, but it's not the shout of a child that gets my attention when I'm in conflict. It is the nudge, the whisper, the conviction of the Holy Spirit telling me that something isn't right. He not only tells me to stop fighting; He also wants me to actively seek peace.

Peace has its roots deep inside a Christian. It is the settled feeling, the assurance that everything is right in my relationship with God. It works its way out in my relationships with others. When one is disrupted, it affects the other. God wants me to be proactive in the peace process. If I've disobeyed God or wronged a brother, I need to seek forgiveness. If I've been hurt, I must forgive. Romans 12:18 admonishes me to, as much as it depends on me, I should live in peace with all men. As I pursue peace, I become more like Jesus.

Lord, thank you that you are constantly at work in me. Please let me be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting today. Help me to "keep my accounts short" and to live today in peace.