Daily Lesson for September 7, 2017

Today's Daily Lesson comes from James chapter 3 verse 18:

And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Gandhi said, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."

Peace is not only an end destination. Peace is also the road. It is a practice, a habit, a way of being. 

We will never be at peace within ourselves when so-and-so happens tomorrow.  We must  seek to be at peace within ourselves here and now, today. We must practice peace today. We must breathe a peaceful spirit today. We must breath spirit today. We must breath -- now. 

The same is true in our relationships with others. Peace with others is something which must be sought and practiced today. Peace is not an end result, something that can only ever happen after they do whatever we need them to do tomorrow. Again, peace with others is to be practiced as best we can here and now.  It's practices may very well be small. We may not end our nuclear standoff with North Korea or with our next door neighbor today, but we can do something. We can begin by praying for them. Prayer transforms our inner selves. This is part of why Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies. For it is exceedingly difficult to hate and wish ill will towards a person or people we are praying for daily.

In today's Lesson James says the harvest of peace is sown in peace. Peace is not only a crop harvested, it is also a crop planted. Imagine your seed of peace today. Where can you sow it?  Where can you practice it?  For the practicing and sowing of peace is the way to peace -- the only way to peace.