To follow Christ is to become a builder of invisible things. “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (Romans 14:19). This verse stands like a whisper in a world of shouting, calling us not to power or pride, but to the sacred duty of peace.
The Christian life is first a pursuit – not of ease, but of effort, not of winning arguments, but of winning hearts. Peace doesn’t arrive; it is made. It demands a will that leans into the hard work of listening, forgiving, and yielding. In that choice, we mirror the Christ who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Second, we are called to edify – to build, not break. Every word we speak, every act we take, can either lift or lower the soul beside us. This life assumes we have influence, and it demands we use it with grace. To follow God is to become a craftsman of courage in others, even when our own heart trembles.
Third, the verse assumes we are not alone. The Christian life is never solitary. It is lived in the mess and miracle of community. To edify “another” means to consider them, to know them, and to walk alongside them. Faith is not just vertical; it is deeply horizontal.
Romans 14:19 calls us to the slow, steady work of building something the world cannot always see – but Heaven does.
As St. Augustine once said, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” This is the Christian life: a quiet revolution of love, strong enough to make peace.
Blessings,
Isaac Sayal