Peaceful Charity

"For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end." 1

Bridges of Brotherhood

As we strive to love one another,
Realities meet and are understood.
That person truly is my brother --
We are building a bridge of brotherhood.

We are made of one humanity:
Nomadic souls in this desert of life.
We are weak and prone to vanity;
Where peace should reign there is usually strife.

I'm tossed in a tempest of enmity:
On the wind and wave of spirit and flesh.
But Christ comes with new serenity:
The waters pristine; the air is so fresh.

From the Peace of Christ flows Charity:
I open my eyes to see my brother.
His soul reflects Christ's Divinity --
Christ reaches through us to another.

The least of my brothers reflects our Lord:
The shunned, the wounded and the forgotten.
I will strive to serve them without reward:
Serving the poor -- Charity begotten.

Over rivers of Peace, the bridges span --
From sister to brother; from God to man.

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." 2

(c) Paul Buis, 2000

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1. Ephesians 2:14-16
2. Colossians 3:12-15,17