Devotion

Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." — Hebrews 12:14

Peace. It sounds like something that simply happens when life gets quiet. But the writer of Hebrews tells us something surprising: peace is something we are called to make every effort to pursue. Peace, it turns out, is an active choice.

In Hebrews 12, the writer paints a picture of a community being disciplined and refined — like athletes in training. It is not always comfortable. Verse 11 acknowledges that discipline "is not pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace." Peace is the fruit that grows on the other side of perseverance.

Hebrews 12:12–13 carries a beautiful image: "Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." This is peace in community — not just inner calm, but the active work of making the path easier for those around us who are struggling. Peace-making means looking out for one another.

How often do we think of peace only as something personal? Hebrews calls us outward. It asks: whose path could you level today? Which relationships need the healing work of peace?

The call in Hebrews 12:14 is breathtaking in its scope: peace with "everyone." Not just those who are easy to love. Not just those who look, think, or worship as we do. Everyone. This is the vision of shalom — the Hebrew word for peace that means not just the absence of conflict, but wholeness, flourishing, and right relationship.

For our school community, this raises a real and wonderful challenge. We are a community of many backgrounds, cultures, and stories. Pursuing peace with everyone means learning to truly see one another — especially those whose history and experience may be very different from our own.

This week is National Reconciliation Week across Australia — a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to recommit to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The theme for 2026 is All In — a call to wholeheartedly commit to reconciliation, every single day. Reconciliation is not a passive activity; it asks all of us to step off the sidelines. It is, in the language of Hebrews, making every effort to live in peace with everyone.

The dates of National Reconciliation Week are anchored in history: 27 May marks the 1967 Referendum in which over 90% of Australians voted to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the national census, and 3 June marks the 1992 Mabo decision, which overturned the legal concept of 'terra nullius.' Knowing this history is part of how we pursue peace — with honesty and with hope.

Where in your life is peace something you need to actively pursue, rather than wait for?
In the context of National Reconciliation Week approaches, how might we take one step to be 'All In' for peace and reconciliation in our community?

Prayer

Dear God, thank you that you are the God of peace. Teach us to pursue peace — not as something passive, but as a daily, active commitment. Strengthen what is weak in us and in our relationships. As we commemorate National Reconciliation Week, open our hearts to learn, to listen, and to act. Help us to be truly All In — for justice, for healing, and for one another. Amen.

Blessings!

Will Wallace

Principal