"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (NIV)
What is God saying?
God's followers should do their best to get along with others, but not lose their distinctive faith, as it is that uniqueness that sets them apart and prepares them to meet God.
What is God saying to us today?
These days in our society Christians don't have that good of reputation for getting along with everyone. We'll leave you in peace as long as you live in a somewhat similar way to us and to our beliefs. But, if you step too far out of those parameters, get ready to have Christians go against you. We tend to put more emphasis on the second part of this verse - the command for us to be holy/unique/distinctive. But so often we don't just apply that to our own lives, rather we try to enforce our beliefs on others around us that do not care about being holy. This is not what a God of freedom wants. He does not force us to do anything, and so we should not try to force others either. Instead we need to do all that we can to find common ground with others who do not think/act/believe like us so that we can all live in peace.
What is God inviting us to do?
Do you go to the extreme of picketing/marching/protesting against others who go against your beliefs? Or do you not even care about what's happening around you? God invites us to experience the tension of living in the middle ground - doing our best to get along with others, while maintaining personal faithfulness to Him.