The Oil Of Peace Series

Years ago a visitor returning from Dublin told of how he put

MacDuncan, the village fool, to the test. He poured the contents of

his purse out on the ground, and told him to take any coin he

wished. MacDuncan's eyes lit up, and the people of the village

gathered around for another demonstration of his consistent idiocy.

He would brush the dust from each coin and study it with indecision

and puzzlement. They roared with laughter after he again flung

aside the gold and silver, and selected the shiniest copper to keep as

his own.

A native told the visitor that he always takes the big coin of small

value, and that he never learns. Before the visitor left Dublin he got

alone with MacDuncan. He said to him, "People say when they offer

you sixpence or a penny you always choose the penny. Do you not

know the difference in their value?" "Certainly," replied the

so-called fool." The difference I know, but if I took the sixpence do

ye think they would try me again?" The village fool was really a

very clever beggar who made fools out of the rest of the villagers by

keeping them convinced he was a fool. His wisdom consisted in his

ability to see that the slow but consistent flow of small income would

bring him out ahead in the long run. He was not short sighted. He

knew that success depended on keeping a good thing going.

This is essential not only for village fools, but for all those who

would be fools for Christ. One of the toughest tests all of us need to

pass is that of perseverance. We need to keep on going for Christ.

Many make a good start for everyone who can endure to the end,

and cross the finish line. It is not easy to keep a good things going.

We are often tempted to grab the gold that glitters in the immediate

present, and snatch the silver coin of sin, and cut off the consistent

slow growth in Christlikeness.

In verse 9 Peter warns Christians that if they lack the virtues he

lists here, they will be blind, shortsighted, and in danger of falling.

As Christians we must be interested about a consistent Christian life

of climbing. We must see far ahead, and live for the long run. It is

not enough to own a plane. It must be maintained for continuous

flying. If faith is the runway from which we launch into the higher

Christian life, and grace is the fuel that empowers us for the flight,

then in this analogy, peace represents the oil that keeps us going.

Peace is the lubricant that keeps a good thing going. It keeps us

in flight, and protects us from the heat of frustration, and the wear

and tare of worry and tension that can cause us to lose altitude, and

even crash. No flight will keep going long without oil, and no

Christian will climb far without the lubricant of peace. That is why

Peter is concerned that Christians have peace multiplied to them

along with grace. A solid runway of faith, and a full tank of grace

with a low supply of peace can mean serious trouble. Grace and

peace must be together, and must be multiplied.

A Kansas cyclone hit a farm house just before dawn. It lifted the

roof off; picked up the bed on which the farmer and his wife slept,

and set them down gently in a nearby field. The wife began to cry.

"Don't be scared," her husband said, "We are not hurt." "I'm not

scared," she sobbed, "I'm just happy. This is the first time in 14

years we have been out together." Some partners need a cyclone to

get them together, but not grace and peace. They are always

together, and this is a necessity. They are as close to each other as

gas and oil. They are found together all through the New

Testament. God is a God of grace, and a God of peace. All three

persons of the Godhead are connected with peace.

Paul says of God the Father in I Thess. 5:23, "And the very God

of peace sanctify you wholly." Rom. 16:20 says "And the God of

peace shall bruise Satan under your feet.." God the Son is called the

Prince of Peace, and Paul says of Jesus in Eph. 2:14, "For He is our

peace..." One of the fruits of the spirit is peace, and Paul in Rom.

14:17 says, "..the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but

righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Paul refers to

the whole of the good news in Christ several times as the Gospel of

peace. If we had time to quote all references to peace, you would