Wednesday, February 22
Interesting how words are used in various nuances of meaning. Some words can stand alone. Some can be spoken in agreement or in exasperation like the word “okay” or “OKAY!!!!! Some can be an instruction or a directive like the word, “go”. Some can be spoken softly to put at ease or loudly with a clenched fist to state a view point like the word “peace”…the first use is a greeting and the second heard in an anti-war protest chant.
Peace is the character quality listed in Galatians 5:22 that follows after the qualities of “love and joy”. No accident in the placement there. Just as love is the motivation for living for Christ so love and joy in harmony allow one to live in peace with God and others. Paul understood that the walk in Jesus allowed followers to have a privilege that was universal because of Christ. Paul would so often begin his letters with, “Grace and peace….”. Once one knows the grace of Jesus, the peace of God with passes all understanding is the result. Genuine peace is not available without experiencing grace.
Jesus came to offer people peace with God. So often, following one of his miracles, He would declare that the person could “go in peace. For example…
Luke 7:50 -
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 8:48 -
Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Jesus was sad that when He came unto His own people (the Jews) to offer the peace of God, they rejected Him. Luke’s Gospel records how very much Jesus longed for all of Israel to turn to Jesus as their Messiah:
Luke 19:41-42–
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.
In the setting of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus speaks to the disciples of “His peace”…..
John 14:27
PeaceI leave with you; my peaceI give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Paul also yearns for Christians to enjoy the peace that comes from being a true Christ-follower:
Romans 15:13 -
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peaceas you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today, may the present, powerful, comforting, and abiding peace of God be real to you!
