THE ART OF HOPE
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life.” (Heb. 12:14a) There is a difference between keeping the peace and making peace. Keeping peace means that we will avoid, delay, acquiesce, and sometimes place ourselves in a difficult spot all to “not make waves.”
Making peace requires the hard work of swallowing our pride, no matter how right we are, to come to a solution that benefits all involved. Most of the time this does not come naturally. This is why I believe it is designated as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). The desire for peace and the steps toward peace only come through time spent with God, relying on His Spirit to guide us to the path of peace.
Commit to love.
“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” (Prov. 10:12) Allowing hatred or harboring a grudge is like cancer. Not only does it kill the cells it infects, but it causes damage to the surrounding cells. In other words, hatred, bitterness, and resentment will just drive you further into despair, and it will infect all of your other relationships in a negative way.
Hope can reframe the conflict. It can bring you to the point of knowing and understanding that conflict takes two opposing forces. Hate says, “you don’t need them anyway.” But hope says, “no conflict is too difficult for love to overcome.” Hate says, “they hurt you way too bad ever to forgive them.” But hope says, “no wrong is so wrong that love cannot cover it.” Believe in the power of hope and love.
Commit to forgive.
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32)
No matter what someone has done or said to you, or what you have done or said to someone else, forgiveness releases you from the continued hurt that can affect you and others around you. If there is hope for us because God forgave us through Jesus, then there can be hope for our relationships. We can choose to forgive as Jesus forgave us. This is the most hope-filled statement we can hold on to in our relationships.
If God can forgive us and we have much in our lives and hearts to be forgiven for, in turn, we can share that forgiveness of wrongs done against us.