Dear Church Family and Community,

Our family loves games. Board games, card games, yard games, video games…you name it, we’ll try it and probably love it. As part of our quarantine, we have been trying to be more intentional of playing some of these games. The one we played last night was a card game, that basically poses a question for everyone to answer. The point of the game is just to talk and share about things that may not always come up so easily in conversation.

One question from last night, that is still on my mind this morning was…what is the most important lesson you learned from your father? Now most questions in regards to my father almost always lends to further introspection. This is largely due to my dad being killed during the first Liberian Civil War, when I was very young. It is also partially due to being my father’s son, but only really knowing him through the stories and memories of others.

So what is the most important lesson that I learned from my father? I think my answer is that we are to love others so deeply, they always remember how much we loved and cared for them. Maya Angelou once wrote:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

That quote may just be the summarized biography of my father, Daniel Hene Johnson. Over thirty years later, I still hear stories of his grace and generosity, peace and passion, laughter and love. The love he shared allowed him to be a person of peace, someone that made people feel loved, valued, and special.

All these years later, I have also learned that we, as followers of Jesus, are to also be people of peace. We are God’s children, Christ’s ambassadors, and instruments of the Holy Spirit. We have been gifted peace from God to share with our world. We are all called to share God’s so our people can know they are loved, valued, and very special to our God and Father.

When we think of peace, we may think of tranquility…sitting before a peaceful lake or on the couch after all the kids have gone to bed. We may think of the absence of war or reconciliation after conflict. We may think of rest that allows us to truly relax and recover, while we unplug from routine busyness and make it our business to reconnect with God. I believe the reason we experience peace in all these things and so much more is because peace is all things made right in God’s eyes.

We are blessed that Christ has left us His peace. We are blessed because Jesus who overcame the world, gifts us the Holy Spirit to lead and light the way, no matter where we are or what we face. We are blessed that God our Father has called us to be peacemakers, so that we can resemble Him. In this and every season, we ought to be growing in peace because we are blessed to have been gifted God’s peace to share with our world.

In this and every season, we must honestly ask and answer, is this a season of growing?

Living by the Spirit produces fruit. The fruit of life by the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, forbearance (longsuffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This week, we’re going to talk about peace. We’re going to be reminded that God has made all things right. We are going to remain fixed on the truth that God is making all things right. And we’re going to reflect on what it means that God calls us to be Christlike people of peace who help God make things right.

May God’s peace that passes all understanding find you. May the Spirit of God refresh and restore your soul. And may Jesus always be found, in your eyes.

God bless you all.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Hank (John 14:27)
P: (717) 561-2170, ext. 104
E: pastorhank@harrisburgbic.org