follow peace
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
The effect of righteousness is always peace. If you are holy, you will be at peace. Peace is broken by sin, but the holy soul deals with sin instantly and takes it to the blood of Christ. Peace is broken by temptation, but the holy soul has learned to put Christ between itself and the the tempter. Peace is broken by worry, dissatisfaction, and unrest, but the Lord stands around the holy soul, as do the mountains around Jerusalem, which shield off the cruel winds, and collect the rain which streams down their broad sides to make the people in the valleys rejoice and sing. Others may be fretful and unhappy, but there is perfect peace to the soul which has God and is satisfied.
When a man is full of the peace of God, he will naturally become a son of peace. He will follow after peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart –(2 Tim. 2:22). He will endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). He will sow harvests of peace as he makes peace (James 3:18). All his words, like those of the great Apostle, will breathe blessings of peace. When he enters a home, it will seem like a living incarnation of the ancient form of blessings: Peace be to this house. He will have a wonderful power of calling out responses from like-minded men; but where that is not the case, his peace, white-robed and dove-winged, shall come back to him again.
But there must be a definite following after peace. Some temperaments of people are so trying. They are so quick to look at things in a wrong light, to misread harmless actions, and to stand out on trifles. Hence the need of effort and patience and watchfulness, that we may exercise a wholesome influence as peacemakers. Amen