Put Away The Fight and Put On Love

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

For the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts, there are two things that we as Christians must deal with. First, we must put away the fight, and second, we must put on love.

First, we must put away the fight. This is referring to the turmoil inside of us that constantly destroys our inner peace and joy in the Lord. This will continue until we learn to fully trust and release everything to Him. His word says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). We have to learn to take a stand against fear, worry, and anxiety and trust Him.

If we are truly serious about our relationship with the Lord, we must put away the fight and forgive. Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Allowing bad feelings toward others to remain in our hearts can destroy our own inner peace.  Why allow someone else to destroy our own inner peace? Colossians 3:8 says, “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” These things, and other things like them, if left unchecked in our lives, will keep the peace of Christ from ruling in our hearts.

Controlling what we allow ourselves to focus on is also enormously important. Colossians 3:1-3 says, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Constantly dwelling on all of the chaos and disturbing issues of this world can destroy our own inner peace.

Second, we are to put on love. In Colossians 3:12, the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Then in verse 14, he says, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Consider Paul’s words in Romans 13:8, “let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” Jesus reminds us in the sermon on the mount, recorded in Matthew 5:43-45a, that “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” It is not difficult to have peace in our hearts if we truly love everyone. This is absolutely a game changer! “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13: 8a).

Proverbs 4:23, says “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Let’s put away the fight and put on love and let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. 

-Richard