Cultivating PEACE Within #4: Concert with the Community

There’s a human paradox. We all know we are social creatures, but at the same time, we often get hurt by social interactions. When I look at my emotional wounds, most of them are caused by people. Of course, there are self-inflicted wounds due to my own mistakes and stupidity, but there are many wounds inflicted by others—sometimes by strangers, sometimes by friends, and sometimes even by family members.

On the other hand, we cannot just cut ourselves off from society and expect to have peace. We all know being alone is unhealthy mentally, emotionally, and spiritually because we are social creatures. Then how do we solve this human problem? How do we be part of a community and not get hurt? I have discovered the secret based on what Jesus taught.

The secret is that “life is not a journey.” If life is a journey, the destination is the focus, and the faster we get there, the better. We want to get on the fastest vehicle in the fastest lane and rush to the end. If you treat life as a journey, your mind will concentrate on “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow,” and you will not be able to enjoy the present moment. You cannot rush life because it has to be lived one day at a time. Jesus taught us to live for today in his Sermon on the Mount.

If life is not a journey, what is it? Life is a piece of music. Unlike a journey, you cannot rush to the end of the music, or it won’t sound pleasant. Just like living one day at a time, you must play every beat and every bar with proper timing and rhythm. There are high notes and low notes, happy moments and sad moments, but when you play it right, they all work together to make your life a masterpiece. Paul said,

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).

Life is a series of peaks and valleys, high seasons and low ones. A friend said that he loves New Jersey because he loves the four distinct seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter. They all are beautiful in their own ways because one season makes us appreciate another. We are in the middle of a cold winter right now, but it will make spring taste so delicious when it comes. It’s like a change of movements in a concerto.

I have also discovered that life is not solo music but an orchestra with God as our Conductor. As Paul said, “God makes all things work together for good,” like a magnificent concerto. I call it “life is a masterpeace,” (PEACE). So, your life is most peaceful when you play with a community that focuses on the same Conductor.

Notice the word “play.” You play through life like playing music. If life is a journey, you compete with people to get ahead. Since life is music, you play with people. When you compete with people, someone will lose, but when you play with people, everyone wins.

To cultivate peace within, you must learn to play with people. For the past three weeks, we have focused on cultivating PEACE within. We all have been through some rough three years, and we don’t know what the future holds, but if we have peace within, we can handle whatever comes ahead and make the rest of our lives the best of our lives.

There are five pillars of peace based on what the Bible teaches us, and I have put them together into an acrostic using the word PEACE. Previously we talked about,

P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in Us

E – Emptiness: Empty Myself (as Jesus Did)

A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness

C – Community: Concert with the Community

E –

Today we will learn how to concert with the community to cultivate peace within based on Jesus’ word in today’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!