Things We Could Never Do On Our Own

If you haven’t read Ken Sande’s book, The Peacemaker (or if you haven’t re-read it in awhile), I encourage you to do so! It is such a wonderful book. I re-read it last week and was tremendously blessed, challenged, and encouraged.

Let me tempt you with a snippet:

“When someone mistreats or opposes us, our instinctive reaction is to justify ourselves and do everything we can to get our way. This selfish attitude usually leads to impulsive decisions that only make matters worse.

The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the way out of this downward spiral. When we remember what Jesus did for us on the cross, our blinding self-absorption can be replaced with a liberating desire to draw attention to the goodness and power of God. As Colossians 3:1-2 teaches, ‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’

Focusing on God is the key to resolving conflict constructively. When we remember his mercy and draw on his strength, we invariably see things more clearly and respond to conflict more wisely. In doing so, we can find far better solutions to our problems. At the same time, we can show others that there really is a God, and that he delights in helping us to do things we could never do on our own.”