Clothed in Christ, Colossians 3:5-17, Illustration

I am compiling my notes for the Sunday School lesson and I pray I will be able to commit that to this blog later this week. Today, an illustration for Colossians 3:15 has overtaken me:

Colossians 3:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

An old story which comes from the Salvation Army in the last century tells of a strong-willed woman who had been nicknamed "Warrior Brown" because of her fiery temper. She was often belligerent and became enraged whenever she got drunk. Then one day she was converted. Her entire life was wonderfully changed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. At an open-air meeting a week later, she told everyone what Jesus had done for her.

Suddenly a scoffer threw a potato at her, causing a stinging bruise. Had she not been converted, she would have lashed out at the man furiously. God's grace, however, had made such a profound change in her conduct that she quietly picked up the potato and put it into her pocket without saying a word. No more was heard of the incident until the time of the "harvest festival" months later.

Then the dear lady who had been known as "Warrior Brown" brought as her offering a little sack of potatoes. She explained that after the open-air meeting she had cut up and planted the "insulting potato," and what she was now presenting to the Lord was "the increase." Warrior Brown had allowed "the peace of Christ" to be umpire of her life.
What are we to do with this peace? "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." What does that mean? F. F. Bruce, the New Testament scholar to whom we owe so much, says "rule" carried the idea of "arbitrate." In many extra-Biblical sources, the Greek word used here referred to the function of one who took it on himself to decide what is right in a contest.

The sense here is, "Let the peace of Christ be umpire in your heart amidst the conflicts of life. Let it decide what is right. Let it be your counselor."

How much misery we would avoid if we permitted "the peace of Christ" to umpire in our hearts. How many words we would hold back if he were the arbitrator in our lives. How many sleepless nights we would forego if we did that. How the Church needs this too, "since as members of one body you were called to peace."

I pray I will have a more detailed copy of all the verses of the Sunday Lesson for this week by Friday!