Let the peace of God rule

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. – Colossians 3v15


We just finished the Olympics a couple of weeks ago. I also enjoy watching them. I like watching the underdogs compete and I like cheering for the ‘good guys’ and pulling against the ‘bad guys.’ For the first time since the Cold War I had ‘bad guys’ to pull against this year! I didn’t want the Chinese to win anything!

A vital part of the Olympics are the officials. Whether we like what they do or not, these folks run the games. They determine who wins and loses. They enforce the rules. They give the prizes to the winners. They have been doing this since the ancient games when the brabeus presided over the games, preserved order, and gave out the prizes. There are several sports that use the term “umpire” for the on field officials, and for convenience sake that is the term I am going to use today.

It is this word that we find in Colossians 2v15. There is something in our lives that should but too often doesn’t umpire our lives. Far too often all kind of things run our lives, we let our flesh and our passions rule, we let circumstances rules, we let peer pressure rule, and sometimes we let the enemies rule. God says, ‘let the peace of God umpire your lives.’ We let corrupt and rotten umpires have control. When we do that, the result is always going to be a disaster. What happens when corrupt judges make the decision? The wrong guy wins. (I would mention a gold medal match between a Irish boxer and a Chinese boxer, but I am above that).

So what happens when we don’t let the peace of God rule? The wrong side gets the victory. Even worse, the dead guy wins!

A couple of helps to mention along the way here: the peace of God rules when there is unity and the peace of God keeps us when we are thankful.

Who is going to umpire our lives?