“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 NIV).
Time for a language lesson. In this passage, the Greek word for rule originally meant to “award prizes.”
You know all about prizes. You get a ribbon for being in a spelling bee. The championship team gets a trophy. In the Olympics, the winner gets a gold medal.
The people who lived around Jesus’ time understood prizes too. You might never have thought about it, but they had races and competitions too. They even had Olympics. Like today, the winners got the prizes. (Although their prizes were usually wreaths made from plant branches, which doesn’t sound nearly as cool as gold.)
The games’ organizers were the judges, and at the end of the day they handed out the prizes—they ruled! The more the Greek word was used, the more it meant less about the prize and more about the judge and ruler.
Today you let Christ’s peace rule in your heart. It oversees your heart, and at the end of the day it gives you a trophy. It might not be wreaths or gold medals, but when you are at peace with Christ, when his peace “awards prizes” in your heart, you are showered with good things. You are content with what you have, you get along with the people around you, and you don’t worry about school or friends or the future. When Christ’s peace gives you a trophy, you win.
Say it with me, Christ’s peace rules!
Chomp on this!
What good things in your life are because Christ’s peace rules in your heart?
