Real Peace

           Well, some of the books of Dr. Seuss got shelved because of some of the stereotypes he portrayed in the book. While it is true that certain people do have certain characteristics that stand out, it is not good to portray them even in a child's book. Upon arriving in Spain, I noticed that the majority of the men I came in contact with had a mustache so I decided to grow one so that I might look more like a Spaniard. I got my bushy mustache and one day was standing in the butcher shop when the butcher began to speak to me but I couldn't understand a word he said. I knew my Spanish was rough, but he was not making any sense at all. Then, he spoke again, this time in Spanish that I recognized, and asked me if I was from Germany. Here he was a Spanish butcher speaking German to a man from the United States, The funny thing is that my heritage is really German, but even though I tried to look like what I thought a Spaniard looked like, it just made me look more like a German than a Spaniard. First Corinthians 9:22 says, “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 

          The Apostle Paul had something to say about this. He looked at people where they were and tried to fit in the best he could so that he might win some of them to the Lord. When Hudson Taylor went to China, he soon discovered that he was a foreigner to them and that he just didn't fit in. Within a few years, he decided he needed to look more like the typical Chinese man in order to not stand out as an Englishman. He then wore their clothes and grew his hair so that he had a “queue” of long hair going down his back. Hudson Taylor had a burden for the Chinese people and he would do almost anything in order to win them to the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to reap a harvest, he tried to look more like a Chinese person. The Apostle Paul was able to adapt his lifestyle in order to win some to the Lord. That doesn't mean that he became a sinner and a drunkard in order to win them, but that he took on the favorable characteristics of their life style. There always needs to be something in your life that stands out to the point that a non believer will desire to know what it is that makes you different than anyone else in their life. There may come that time when during a problem in their life, they turn to you for answers and for hope, peace and love. There are many who would like to look like a jovial, fun loving person all the time but in reality they look more like the village idiot and when the problems arise, no one wants to consult the local clown but looks for a person who has peace in their life even in the midst of discouragement and dismay. Of course, this assumes that we do have it all together in our lives. I have been reviewing some of my old memory verses, and came upon this one from Philippians 4:6-7 which says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Do you have the peace of God in your life today or are you still looking for it? This passage refers to our prayer life and if these verses are real for you, hen perhaps you do have the peace of God that passes all understanding because you are trusting in God rather than the feeble abilities of the world. Praise God today that He is the Author of real peace.