Individual Responsbility - Part 1

This week I have read two different thoughts that have really stirred me to reflect on my individual responsibility instead of blaming others or expecting others to solve my problems.

This post will quote an email I received called: Peace Meal - Food for Thought on Biblical Peacemaking.


Let It Begin with Me

All it takes is one person who hears the call of God and responds, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isa. 6:8). Perhaps for your church, that person is you. Please pray about it and reflect on the Scriptures given above. Ask God to give you a longing to see a culture of peace in your church that reflects the love and power of his Son. If he gives you that longing, hard work awaits you, but great blessing is also in store, for Jesus' promise in Matthew 5:9 is absolutely dependable:
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."
Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 297.

It just takes one.

There is a theory in the study of family systems that says if just one person begins to change, then the family changes. For example, if a passive son begins to be more assertive in his decisions and behavior, then the whole family changes. They may look the same, drive the same old Honda, and still play Monopoly every Saturday night. But since he changed, the family is no longer the same. And the courage of one member to change often inspires others to change as well.

So who will begin to change your church's culture to one of peacemaking? Ken writes: "Perhaps…that person is you." What? Me? Surely not! I mean, doesn't that need to come through the pastor or the elders or the deacons or the Sunday school teachers? I'm just one person.

Exactly! That's where change begins--always has, always will. It begins with the man or woman in the mirror. If you begin to practice biblical peacemaking in your church, your church will change. It may keep the same street address, sing the same hymns, and keep the steel-blue pew cushions, but it will be different. It all begins with the courage of one with the power of One.


As a friend of mine loves to say - this is a trustworthy saying.
In my next post I will share something that our son, Stephen, recently wrote and has submitted to several newspapers for their opinion section.