An Instrument of Peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi, “The Prayer of Peace”
When I was in middle school at St. George’s Episcopal School, our Chaplain had us read this prayer in unison every Wednesday morning. By the time I was 13, I had this prayer memorized. The words began to pervade my thoughts in almost all my interactions with others and in my prayers with God. I fell in love with the idea of seeking to serve and give to others as opposed to fulfilling my own needs. It created within me a foundational theology that not only sought to love others as Christ has called us to but trust that whatever needs I may have would always be provided by the Father. I didn’t realize it then, but repeating and believing this prayer created a faith within me that would look to the Father for fulfillment rather than the world. It created a faith where I would seek to lose my life in order to gain it through Christ.
Often, we read and hear about dying to ourselves and being reborn in Christ, but many people don’t have a practical understanding of what this really means. I’ve been hearing those words my entire life, and I still have a working definition of “dying to myself.” When the disciples asked Jesus how they ought to pray, Jesus responded with the Lord’s prayer and instructed us to pray for God’s will and kingdom rather than our own. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When Paul writes about dying to ourselves, living for Christ, and being reborn in the Spirit, he expresses the all-encompassing nature of the Christian faith. What it means to die to yourself is to die to your will, your desires, your own personal goals, and your pride so that you might gain what is most valuable – Christ Himself.
This doesn’t mean that God wants to deprive us or keep us from being satisfied or from accomplishing great things. In fact, the opposite is true. Jesus says in the book of John that “I am the bread and the life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). A faith that is dedicated to following Christ is a faith that believes that Christ is the source of life itself. The will of God, despite all our best efforts or beliefs, is not only sovereign but is full of so much more goodness and love than any of our human plans could create. When we truly believe that God’s will and Christ’s love are the most necessary and important aspects of life, we develop the desire to overwhelm the earth with everything that is God rather than everything that is us. Paul writes about this beautifully in the book of Philippians:
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3:7-11)
To die to yourself takes a few but simple things: a mindset, a heart posture, and a dedication. Our mindset must always be focused on the heavenly realms and on Christ Himself. We must orient our thoughts to think like Christ and meditate on His love and will. Our heart posture must always be directed towards the will of God. It is by consistent prayer and reminders that our hearts turn back to God and desire His knowledge. Our dedication must be to walk out the calling on our lives and the teachings of Christ. We are not called to push for our own will and desires above all else, nor are we called to seek self-fulfillment from others rather than serving others first. To dedicate our lives to Christ is to dedicate our lives to the service of others, to work for peace among our neighbors, and to consistently relinquish our own pride for the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.” Just as Romans says, “Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself.”
So, as you continue in your week, ask God to show you areas where you could be of service. Ask God to open your eyes to places where there are hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness, and sadness. Ask God to grant you the ability to sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy. Seek these opportunities in all kinds of moments. When you’re talking to the person bagging your groceries, when you single out a lonely or awkward person at a party, when your boss degrades you or your coworkers, when your family is lacking unity, when your friendships become infiltrated with animosity, or when you become so burdened by the fears of failures and the weight of pride… in all things, whether a bystander or victim, seek to give rather than receive, and trust that the Father Himself will fulfill all of your needs. He withholds no good gifts from His children.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” (Colossians 3:15)
May you finish this week with a new attitude that pushes you in the direction of service. May you let the Spirit of God energize you in all your endeavors, giving you the power to endure all things as you trust in Him. May your heart and mind always be oriented towards Christ and the knowledge of Him, so that day by day, it becomes second-nature to surrender your will in exchange for the Father’s. May you look and find pockets of opportunities to sow the fruits of the Spirit wherever you go. May you find the truest and most abundant life there is in Christ our Lord. May you truly be an instrument of His peace.
Blessings,
Anna Takle
