Embracing Peace With All Mankind: Seeing People Through God’s Eyes

Do all you can to live in peace with everyone

Romans 12:18 NLT

Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord

Hebrews 12:14

As believers, we are often faced with questions like: how do you love or deal with difficult or abusive people? How do we handle people with opposing ideas? What about relating with people with sexual orientations that do not align with your beliefs? How should you relate with people from other religions or beliefs? I am certain we all face these situations daily, no matter how much we try to avoid them. Yet the bible instructs us to follow peace with all men as much as it lies with us.

Navigating Diversity

Unfortunately, there is a rise of factionalism fuelled by the news media, politicians, religious leaders, activists, and others who use different labels to create ethnic, gender, racial, social, and religious divisions. These labels include black, white, gay, transgender, feminist, divorced, married, single parent, rich, poor, Muslim, Christian, left-wing, right-wing, liberal, immigrant, and more. It seems like we are forced to choose sides based on labels that suit us or look like us. However, we need to wonder which side Jesus would choose.
The Bible expressly tells us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and that light and darkness do not fellowship together because we need to maintain the purity of our faith. But we must accept that as long as we are in this world, there will always be people whose views differ from ours and will never look like us. So, what mindset should we have to approach our relationship with them?

Jesus’ Perspective

The words of our Lord Jesus explain it well, in Luke 6:32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” Then he went further to say in Matthew 5:13 “ You are the salt of the earth…”. Also, he made it clearer in Matthew 5:44: “ But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, pray for them that despitefully use, and persecute you that you may be children of your father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Transformative Love Beyond The Labels

I often wonder in scripture why Jesus related more with the most unlikeable people with the worst labels in his day – tax collectors, drunks, prostitutes, poor, sinners. He was asked in Matthew 9:10-17 about this, and he responded that it is not the healthy who need the doctor but the sick. What was Jesus’ perspective? Did he simply wave off their sins? No! He knew they were sick but also realised he was the doctor they were looking for. He was not compromised but he changed them into God’s vision for them. Jesus refused to see the labels but saw them as his creations who had been taken advantage of by the devil through ignorance. Did every one of them change their ways? I don’t think so but many of them did.

Be The Catalyst – Agent Of Change

It is presumptuous to think we can change people to be like us through our efforts. We will be frustrated if we think we can. But see and love people first through God’s eyes, as his creation, and not as the labels placed on them by society. The earth belongs to God and all the people in it. They may not live in obedience to God’s rulership, but God loves them anyway to the extent of sacrificing himself for them. God will not kill them off just because you wish so. Viewing others through the lens of God’s compassion, we tap into God’s redemptive vision for each one. When we are hurt by them, we can forgive, pray and do good to them instead. This way we live at peace with everyone, and God can use us as his agents of change to transform their lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Embrace All-round Peace

Embracing peace with all mankind requires seeing beyond labels and embracing the inherent worth of every individual. By adopting the mindset of Christ, we become instruments of His transformative love, fostering reconciliation and healing in a fractured world.