Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:14,15
It’s one thing to just make some effort. But it’s something very different to make every effort. It takes something big for us to make every effort. It’s got to grab our attention in a big way. It’s like someone grabbing both of our shoulders, bringing us face-to-face with them. Eyeball to eyeball.
When we make every effort, it’s not just some hit-and-miss thing either. It won’t be something that we start and stop at. It will never be like a hobby where we work on it for a while and then put it away for a while. No. We’ll grab ahold of it and won’t let go. We’ll never run out of gas when we’re making every effort.
Making every effort means we don’t quit. We keep at it. And in all our making every effort, with all our keeping at it, we take every possible action. We leave no stone left unturned. We’ll try anything and everything. We’ll run after it with all our might. With all our attention. With everything we got.
It’s easy to give up, especially if life’s beating you up. When people that you thought were your family and friends turn against you. When your job and the economy put you into a financial freefall. When you lose your house and car. When your good health turns and runs away. When your sharp mind becomes dull and forgetful.
The Hebrews had been living in persecution for some time. Governmental rules had turned against them. Rulers and officials came and took away your freedoms and possessions. Mobs of people came and forced you to leave where you put down roots and were living. It’s into this kind of life that the writer tells these poor people to do two very hard things.
Live in peace with everyone. This isn’t avoiding people, but to be presently and actively living in peace. Each and every day are to be filled with words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes that grow and mature peace. If it would only stop there. But God’s kind of peace is to be with everyone. That last word, everyone, really sticks in us like a big, sharp thorn. And even though God knows that this isn’t always going to happen, we’re to do everything possible to live at peace with everyone[1].
Be holy. For as tough as we think the first command is, we take a deep breath and sort of just walk past this one. After all, being holy is old fashioned. In today’s modern and smarter world, we’re accepting and inclusive of every person and idea that comes across our screens. We’re deathly afraid of the backlash if we were to say something, anything that might put anyone or anything down. The whole idea of being holy is to be separated to God. Separate with God. The hard truth is that there’s no way to be holy to the Lord and saying that everything is OK[2].
And yet, while the ideas of having both peace and holiness are brutally attacked, this is exactly what everyone wants when it comes to their health. For example, cancer is the total opposite of living in peace with the rest of our bodies. These malfunctioning cells go after and attack everything else. And when cancer is treated, the goal is to totally separate it from us.
We experienced both sides of this problem when Mary Ann had breast cancer. A tumor was attacking her. It was growing, replacing healthy cells with cancerous ones. Surgery was scheduled with the goal of separating the cancer from the rest of her body and removing it.
Peace only comes when there is agreement and harmony. When everyone and everything are working together for everyone’s good. And to do that, there needs to be separation from what’s harmful. What’s hurting. This is where the coming together and pushing apart comes in.
When we put food into our mouth, we don’t expect that someone just threw anything and everything together. There was a recipe that makes food look and taste good. And if we’re lucky, it’s also good for us.
Think about the last time we did anything. We put together stuff that goes together and keep other things out. It could have been when fertilizing the lawn or putting chemicals into a pool. When we fill our cars up or change the oil. We only replace batteries with the same kind that will properly fit and help it work
If we do this in every other part of life, why do we jump to the conclusion that we can’t do this when it comes to truth and error? Right and wrong. Good and evil. Why do we refuse to say no to some idea? Maybe it’s that we’re afraid of offending someone. That we might hurt their feelings. Let me tell you something. It was a great day that someone loved me enough to tell me the truth. What was right and wrong. It’s time to stand up and be counted for the right. For the good. Coming together for the good and pushing apart the evil.
Noodling Questions
Is it easier for you to bring people together or push them apart? Explain
Why are we careful what we put in our mouths and not the same with ideas?
How can we quickly figure out if something is good or evil?
[1] Romans 12:18
[2] Isaiah 5:20
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