Subscription Lists

Colossians 3:15-16 -- And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Wuest’s Translation “ “let it be acting as an umpire in your heart”

In Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament – Volume I, he notes that: “’Rule’ is brabeuõ, an athletic term, “be umpire.” Bishop J. B. Lightfoot says: “Wherever there is a conflict of motives or impulses or reasons, the peace of Christ must step in and decide which is to prevail.

I was reading these verses and thinking about the word LET. The dictionary defines let as “to grant permission to; allow, or “to cause to.” It also defines it as “to be or become assigned, as to a contractor.”

Something I believe very strong in is that everything we do in life is a choice. Granted, often we feel we have no choice about something, but 99% of the time we do – it’s just that the consequences are such that we’re not willing to accept them or deal with them, so we say we have no choice. So when I read about letting the peace of God rule, or letting the word of Christ dwell in me, it leads me to believe that I have a choice about it.

When I read Wuest’s translation about letting the peace of God rule in your hearts, it made sense to me that we choose Christ’s decision – as an umpire – to be our decision as well. In a sport, the umpire has the final call, and whether or not the team likes it, that call is it! I need to learn to choose to give my decisions over to the Lord, and let Christ be the Ump. Yes, I may choose the plays and participate in the game, but it’s His call that will mean all the difference. My role is to allow Him, as Lightfoot says, “step in and decide”. I know full well from choosing poorly so often in the past that my best choice is ALWAYS to allow Christ to "assign" me my next steps!

The choices I make are my own, and my responsibility is to say/do all in the name of Jesus, and then to allow Him to make the final call. There are many, many times (more so than not) that I do have conflicts of motives or impulses, and that’s when I need to stop, and look to Jesus for my answers and then follow. My obedience is my choice, and when I do listen, I know that’s when I will always find that peace.

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

Milque-Toast Prayers