A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow
Day 5: Peace (John 14:27)
Don't we all want more peace in our lives? Peace of mind, a peaceful home, world peace. Sounds pretty good, huh?
We all want peace, but few people are willing to do the things that make for peace. The way the world makes peace is at the edge of a sword (or with the barrel of a gun). We "keep the peace" under threat of violence or swift punishment for those who disrupt the peace. And by "peace" we mean absence of conflict because everyone is forced to act and think the same way.
This is the way of Rome. The Pax Romana was the highest law in the Empire. Anyone who threatened the peace of Rome would end up being crushed by the might of Rome. One of their own poets even critiqued, "You make a desert and call it peace."
Not so with Jesus. The angels announced "Peace on Earth" as he was born, but the world was far from peaceful. Jesus brought a peace that could stop the storms, drive out demons, feed the masses, and bring the dead to life again. The peace of Jesus was truly the Shalom, or wholeness, of God. It's the kind of peace that eliminates conflict by turning enemies into brothers.
Jesus came to set the world right, not by conquering thrones and empires at the edge of a sword, but by conquering the forces of sin and death by giving his life on the cross. It's a counterintuitive peace that defies understanding and logic. Yet there are those who may be called "peacemakers," those who work for the things that lead to peace in this world.
May you come to know this Peace today. Rest in the knowledge that God is in control, and he cares for you.
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