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Peace

             Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. (Psalm119:165)

What’s something you’re comfortable doing? What have you done so many times that you could do it with your eyes closed? There’s a story about a centipede that was asked with which foot it started to walk. It could never walk again. What do you do so easily and automatically that if asked to explain it, either you couldn’t get the steps right or you couldn’t do it because you’d start thinking about it? If you can think of no other possibility, consider breathing (if you don’t have a breathing issue.) Whatever the thing you’re comfortable doing, you have peace with that thing or doing that thing.

Now, let’s take a step away from the thing with which we’re comfortable. What’s something you know someone else can do with the level of comfort described above? There are people where I work that I believe know what they’re doing and what they are talking about. I know some folks I’d love to learn from about carpentry, cooking, crocheting, or sewing. If they agreed to teach me, I might not have peace about my current skills, but I would have peace about my skill level improving under their tutelage. I suspect you know some people  you would like to learn from, too.

If we did learn from these people, we’d likely have peace about their teaching. We’re not as likely to start second-guessing and wondering if maybe they got their information wrong or wrong for us as if we’re some exception to all the rules. In other words, we’re not as likely to stumble over their teaching.  What our verse for today tells us is that we should be the same way about God’s teaching.   

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