“The Rule of God’s Peace!”

Colossians 3:15-17 & Philippians 4:7-9 (NASB)

Umpires are important for any game to be worth playing… You ever watch a bunch of kids play pick up sports without an umpire. It gets dirty quick and rarely ends well… I hate to say it, but we all know that high school, college, amateur or professional athletes would try to get away with it if they knew they could. Why? Because we all fall short of the glory of God!

The umpire keeps the players playing by the rules of the game. The very presence of the umpire brings a civilizing effect to people who are trying to knock one another’s heads off on the football field.

I believe there is even greater freedom on the field for the players to play the game because of the presence of the umpires. Their presence alone is a game changer! Without the umpires, the players could not be free to become their very best…

In the same way, we need an umpire in our everyday lives; One who will bring freedom to our lives so that we can become our very best to the glory of God. Paul knew this and was very clear on what should rule our lives.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

The umpire of our lives is to be the peace of Christ, which is to rule our hearts—the center of who we are and why we do what we do.

Colossians 3:15-17 is a summary statement of Paul’s “rule of life.” If that is new to you, then please know that it is not new to Christianity. It’s an ancient concept that brings order to our lives. Paul said that for the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts we must remember that we are called to be a thankful, worshiping, unified people. How? By setting up rhythms of life that cause the word of Christ to richly dwell in us and to let the teaching of God’s wisdom and the thankful singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs admonish (umpire) our liv

es together. We are to speak to one another, work with one another, and serve one another as if we were doing it for Jesus Himself to the glory of God.

Let’s transition to the second image: Just like an umpire rules the game, so a guard protects a person or place of value. Paul says that we are to let peace umpire our lives and now listen to what else God’s peace can do.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Please remember there is a distinction between the omnipresence of God and the manifest presence of God.

What does an umpire and guard have in common? They are actual people—present to the situation. An umpire is the manifestation of the “spirit of fair play” because He stands behind the catcher or is out on the playing field. In the same way, a guard must be in the location of the person or place the guard is protecting. Just their presence takes intangible concepts (i.e. fair play and safety) and makes them concrete.  

What does that tell us about Paul’s promises for the peace of Jesus Christ to rule and guard our hearts and minds?

The promises of the peace of God are the promises of the presence of God because God is the peace! The peace of God is not a cease fire from hostilities, but the very presence of God in our life’s battles. God’s peace is not a removal of pain and suffering, poverty and injustice, disease and death, but the reality that God will be with us in the midst of these very real issues of life and death.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

Jesus promises to be with us, like an umpire on the fields of friendly strife or a guard in a war zone. The more you respond to His presence as umpire of your heart and as guard to your heart and mind, the more you will experience His peace. This is a promise that comes with a praxis, like every other promise in the Bible.

Paul has very practical things in mind with both of these verses and the church has understood this for a very long time. Enter the discipleship tool called a “rule of life.”

Developing a rule of life is first of all a biblical endeavor. “Paul’s overarching rule of life is that every word and every deed be done in the name of Jesus (see Col 3:17). Following such a rule affects our outlook on life. We begin to wake each morning with the sense that we are serving Jesus himself.”[1]

Pastor Scazzero encourages the use of a “rule of life” in a recent Barna Group report on pastoral well-being, as well as in both of his influential works, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and Emotionally Healthy Leader:

Don’t be intimidated by the word rule. The word comes from the Greek for “trellis.” A trellis is a tool that enables a grapevine to get off the ground and grow upward, becoming more fruitful and productive. In the same way, a Rule of Life is a trellis that helps us abide in Christ and become more fruitful spiritually. A Rule of Life, very simply, is an intentional, conscious plan to keep God at the center of everything we do. It provides guidelines to help us continually remember God as the Source of our lives. … The starting point and foundation of any Rule is a desire to be with God and to love him.[2]

Ruth Haley Barton explains a “rule of life” in her excellent work Sacred Rhythms:

In Christian tradition, this structured arrangement of spiritual practices is referred to as a “rule of life.” A rule of life is a way of ordering our life around the values, practices, and relationships that keep us open and available to God for the work of spiritual transformation that only God can bring about. Simply put, a rule of life provides structure and space for growing.[3]

Even more specifically, Marjorie Thompson explains the details of a rule of life in Soul Feast:

A rule of life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. When we speak of patterns in our life, we mean attitudes, behaviors, or elements that are routine, repeated, regular. Indeed, the Latin term for “rule” is regula, from which our words regular and regulate derive. A rule of life, like a trellis, curbs our tendency to wander and supports our frail efforts to grow spiritually. … We choose particular disciplines to help us reframe the whole of our lives around God, the true center of all… spiritual disciplines are simply ways we position ourselves to see divine beauty and grace more clearly, so we might respond fullheartedly [sic].[4] 

When we pray for peace we are actually praying for God to be in our midst and His will be done. When God’s peace comes, He rules, He guards, He structures our lives for His will to be done in us and through us.

So often, the answer to our prayers is found in our response to the presence of God! How will you order your daily life to respond to the presence of God?

A rule of life umpires our life decisions… by focusing us on the presence of God and His will for our lives through intentional times of Bible study, prayer, personal and corporate worship, and church gatherings!

A rule of life protects that which is most central and sensitive of who we are… our hearts! It allows us to remain focused on our life purpose and guiding principles as we work unto the Lord and not for man.

One ancient wrote, “Let your truth teach me. Let it guard me, and keep me safe to the end. Let it free me from all evil affection and badly ordered love, and I shall walk with You in great freedom of heart.”^[5]

This is the work of a practical rule of  life: it is a conduit of God’s grace for growth in Christlikeness… for our holiness… for us to experience the promised peace of Jesus Christ in very real and practical ways.

Do you want the peace of Christ to rule your heart? Or do you want to continue to feed the fear and anxiety our culture seeks to pour into you throughout the day? Then pay attention to your rule of life. We all have one! The question is whether your’s is “the rule of God’s peace” as commanded by Scripture.

Build your life on the promises of God… don’t just claim them, live them, let them be the trellis of your life, the umpire of your heart, the guard of your well-being.

Remember, Jesus is not promising you an absence of tribulation, but an abundance of His presence—peace in the midst of the tribulations!

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] NIV Stewardship Study Bible, 1566.

[2] Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, 190.

[3] Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms, 14.

[4] Marjorie J. Thompson, Soul Harvest, 150.

[5] Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 101.