The Hard Work of Peace

Most of us have a moment, a situation, a place, or a specific set of circumstances when we're most likely to act completely out of step with who we say we are.

For me, it's driving.

A couple of summers ago, I was heading north on 675 approaching US 35. Traffic was backed up in the right lane. And then a little Prius came flying past me on the shoulder and squeezed in right in front of my truck. I still don't know how he didn't hit me.

Something took over. I put my one-ton diesel right on his bumper. Followed him around the on ramp. Got an opening, opened it up, let out some black smoke. Passed him. Glared over.
And he rolled down his window and pointed at the cross hanging from my rear-view mirror.
One finger. Pointed at a cross. I had nothing.

That moment has stayed with me. Because that Prius driver wasn't pointing at a piece of wood. He was pointing at a calling. And in that moment, I had forgotten what it meant to live like it.

That's exactly where Paul begins in Ephesians 4.

"I urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received."

The word worthy, axios in Greek, is a scale word. Picture a balance with two sides. On one side, everything God has done for you in Christ: chosen before the foundation of the world, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, sealed with his Spirit. On the other side, it's Monday, Tuesday, and your drive to work.

The question Paul is asking isn't whether you're perfect. The question is whether your daily life is starting to match the weight of what God has already placed on the other side of those scales.

And then Paul gets specific. Walking worthy looks like humility, which costs you your ego. It looks like gentleness, which costs you your first reaction. It looks like patience, which costs you your timeline. And it looks like bearing with one another, which costs you your preference. Every single one of them costs you something.

But Paul doesn't stop there. He calls us to make every effort; to pursue peace the way you chase something that keeps slipping away. Not keeping the peace. Making it. There's a difference. Keeping the peace means not starting anything. Making peace means you cross the room. You initiate. You go first. Even when, especially when, it costs you.

And the reason it's worth it? Because look at what you already share. One body. One Spirit. One hope. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father of all. Seven times, Paul says one. You are not strangers searching for common ground. You already have it. The unity isn't something you manufacture. It's something you've been given. Your job is to protect it.

The foundation underneath all of it? Paul said it two chapters earlier: "For he himself is our peace." Not that he taught peace. Not him. He modeled peace. He is our peace. The common ground has a face. The unity has a name. And he already paid the cost, all of it.

This Sunday at Cornerstone Church of Christ, 5051 Wilmington Pike in Centerville, we're continuing our series, Unity in the Church, with this message from Ephesians 4:1–6. We'd love for you to join us. Services begin at 9:00 and 10:30 AM.

The calling is real. The common ground is real. Come walk like it with us.

1.  Where in your daily life are you most likely to act out of step with who you say you are, and what does that reveal about the gap between your calling and your conduct?
2.  Of the four virtues Paul names in verse 2 — humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another — which one costs you the most, and why?
3.  What is the difference between keeping the peace and making peace, and which one do you find yourself defaulting to when a relationship gets difficult?
4.  When you consider the seven "ones" in verses 4–6 and realize you already share that common ground with the people around you, how does that change the way you think about doing the hard work of unity?
5.  Because he himself is our peace, where do you need to go first this week — what room do you need to cross, what conversation do you need to start, or what person do you need to carry?

Those Serving
CALL TO WORSHIP/PRAYER
Jason Schofield
SONG LEADER
Drumand McLaughlin
LEAD LORD'S SUPPER
Dave Pennington
 ASSIST LORD’S SUPPER
Marvin Lewis
Josh Childers
James Passmore
Andrew Cain
SCRIPTURE READING
Brayden Grushon
Ephesians 4:1-6
PREACHING
Matthew Allen
CLOSING PRAYER
Colby Grushon
CLOSING COMMENTS
George Wacks
WELCOME CENTER
Wes Grushon
USHERS
Daniel Spargo // Richard Jacobs
COMMUNION PREP
Sadonna Schofield
CLOSING THE BUILDING
Mike Rosato