Whirled Peas

Whirled Peas

Isaiah 26 and 32    Proverbs 16:7-8   Romans 5

            I spend an enormous amount of time driving. I get a lot writing time, music, worship and prayer going from one place to another. On one such venture I saw a bumper sticker on the vehicle in front of me, “Visualize Whirled Peas.” There was a band in the early nineties that bore that name; I don’t know which came first, the sticker or the band. But it got me thinking.

             It got me thinking about the irony of the statement. We might as well pray for whirled peas as world peace. Mankind, in its fallen self-edifying state, will never know peace this side of the Kingdom come. When the Christ returns and His Kingdom, in the tactile sense, is realized here on earth, man will finally and truly know world peace. Until then whirled peas is more likely obtainable.

            However, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.” Romans 5:1 In the Spiritual realm, which is ever so much as real as this physical existence we live in, we are living in His Kingdom now. We can know this peace. The word in Greek for kingdom is “basile’; royal power, dominion, rule.

 This is not to be confused with earthly boundaries but the right of rule. Interestingly enough, the root of the word in the Greek is “basis’; a stepping, walking.  How we handle our walk with the Lord determines where the Kingdom is manifested. Our walk of Faith is His Kingdom, His way if doing things, His Lordship in our world.

Yes, we are to partner with our King and pray for His will in Heaven and earth, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and all the places around us that are in such turmoil now. We are admonished us to pray this way in one of the points in the Lord’s Prayer.

I know that I have become angry at politicians and prayed, “Lord! How can something as noble as this public servant hood have fallen so far?” But look at my error, here. Did I pray for those people, those human beings, on Capitol Hill? In fact, I let the ugliness, the problem, steal my peace. Isaiah 32:16-20 lets us know that the work of righteousness, our right standing with God, will be peace.

 It is fascinating to me that word in the Hebrew and Greek directs our attention to the same conclusion. Peace in the Hebrew is “shalom”; happy, healthy, prosperous, at rest. The Greek Word is “elrene”(think serene); from the root verb to join, translates peace, quietness, to be at rest. I think on Psalm 23 and the how the sheep are made to lie down in green pastures. Anyone who has worked livestock knows that this will not just happen but is the result of total contentment.

Therefore, if I am praying to God and allowing the anger to rule my thoughts, something is misguided in my intentions, my direction. We must stay focused on the answer not the problem. God will keep us in perfect peace if we keep our minds stayed on Him. Isaiah 26:3