Romans 12 is one of my favorite chapters of Scripture, and at the same time, one of the hardest for me to implement in my life. From the outset, Romans 12 gives us a great challenge — to not be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. As you move through the chapter, you come across a section often denoted as “a guide to Christian living”. This is where I start getting my toes stepped on. One such verse is Romans 12:18:

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

Sometimes, it is difficult to live at peace. Recently in my teen girls class, we were talking about this very verse, and one of the girls said,  “but what if the other person doesn’t want peace?” This sparked another girl who said, “and what if you just make it worse?” That’s the problem, isn’t it? Sometimes, people don’t want peace. Sometimes, the very people causing the unrest in your life are the people who don’t want any ounce of peace with you.

I am so thankful that this verse says if. Implicitly, we see that sometimes peace will not be attainable. There will be people who don’t want to be at peace, who strive to make our lives tumultuous. But, even if those people don’t want peace, that doesn’t negate the command to live peaceably.

You see, regardless of how people treat me or respond to my attempts at peace, I must still have the heart of a peacemaker (Matt. 5:9). I must do all that is within my power to maintain peaceful relationships, even with those who don’t want it. It may be years of unrest, but if that person ever eventually wants to have peace, we have to be open to and urgent to grant that peace. Our hearts must always be open to and promoting peace within every relationship.

I also love that the emphasis of verse 18 is the ‘as much as depends on you‘. We know that we cannot control people. We cannot force people into acting or reacting a certain way. But we can always control ourselves. What’s the difference between unite and untie? Is it not where I choose to stand? I have the power to be a peacemaker, and I must always, actively pursue peace.

While Romans 12:18 will always step on my toes, it will also always encourage me to be a better person. It will always push me to go beyond what I might be tempted to do (like writing people off, holding a grudge, etc). It will always remind me that Jesus, though murdered by humankind, shed His blood to provide reconciliation. What a peacemaker! And, since I bear His name (Christian), I must be a peacemaker as well, as much as it depends on me.