Today’s guest post comes from Rebecca Parker, a gifted young writer who I’ve had the pleasure to know since she was a middle schooler, wrestling through identity and purpose and faith. I am a huge fan of her many abilities, and hugely inspired by her passion for peace. I know you’ll enjoy her! Here’s Becca:

My full immersion in the outdoorsy world, the back-woods, granola and yoga world, has illuminated my eyes and heart to many truths. One: that God is in the beautiful and brutal wilderness. Two: that God is full of adventure. Three: never underestimate the need for good shoes. And four: that we as believers have forgotten, or quite possibly intentionally disregarded, the idea of “peace,” of being at peace, of living in peace, of actively practicing peace. In my working world, this outdoor industry, practicing peace is an assumption- you do it, everyone does it. Yet, in my spiritual dialogues, in my places of refuge and refreshment for my faith, the concept of peace is a novelty, seemingly absent from our conversations and our doctrines. 

When I speak of peace, I mean not peace with our personal journeys through life, be it trial or joy. When I speak of peace, I mean an active pursuit, a physical promotion of peace amongst one another. For peace is not a state of being, but an action- an action required of those who hope after righteousness. 

I’m not sure when it started, but we have been so afraid of moral relativism, or the colloquial ambiguity of “peace, love, and happiness,” that as a whole, we have disassociated ourselves with a fundamental tenet of our faith. Have we forgotten where peace came from? How it is a virtue born straight from the all-perfect heart of our father? We stay hinged on the fact that the Word of God is as sharp as a double-edged sword, and have forgotten that a sword, whether a physical or emotional sword, brings death. If we look hard enough we can see that violence does not exist isolated in physicality but in our speech and our quiet deeds.

So let us begin the dialogue anew. How can we be active agents of peace in the tumultuous interactions of our daily lives, while staying Christ centered and not jumping into a yoga position and sighing “ommmmm” ?

Let us start by reorienting our definitions of peace, and putting to bed all our misconceptions. Peace is not acquiescence, and it is not cheap or relativistic. Peace is being a healer, instead of an executioner. Peace is bringing mercy where fairness brings vengeance. Peace is living in shalom with one another, not hostility, not violence, not condemnation.

We are told that the peacemakers are blessed, that righteousness is the fruit of peace, and that we must live in peace with one another.* From nation to nation, to person to person, we must take this call seriously. We must reclaim that which is rightfully ours as children of the Prince of Peace himself, to stand firm against those who wish to devalue and debase that virtue which is sacred.

With your community of friends, or maybe just within your own head, initiate the dialogue of what it means to be peacemakers today. May we take the first step towards acknowledging the lack of peace in our daily interactions, and our silence surrounding the subject; and then may we pick ourselves up, and humbly continue walking towards peace, which will bring the life and righteousness of Christ into all our interactions. 

*(Matthew 5:9, James 3:18, Romans 12:18)

 About Me: Ever since the advent of my undergraduate studies in peace, nonviolence and reconciliation, I have been so taken by the idea of being a Christ-empowered force for peace in our otherwise violent world. If I don’t become the woman who eventually overhauls the violent ills of our criminal justice system, I would be happy to live a small, peaceful life with rich devotion to my God, my beloved mountains and my adventuring passions. I share my life’s moments here: www.raisondetre.tumblr.com and I would love to continue conversations here: rebecca.k.parker@gmail.com