Peace

Ron Writes

The world longs for peace. We crave it. To live in harmony with one another without war or conflict. But it’s too narrow of a concept to merely think of peace as the absence of war. People want peace even in the absence of war. And ironically, there’s a sense in which we can find peace even in the middle of conflict. True peace is not just the absence of strife, but also the extension of goodwill.

In the OT, the Hebrew word translated peace is shalom. Shalom is more than a greeting or salutation. It has great depth and meaning. It is to have harmony, completeness, health, safety, and prosperity. Paul Trip writes, “Shalom is everything in its right place, doing what it was meant to do, in the way God intended it to be done.” It’s a sense of balance. Unfortunately, going all the way back to the Fall in the garden everything is out of balance.

Jesus came to bring us peace. He is the “Prince of Peace”. In the midst of all the brokenness, drama, pain and dysfunction Jesus came to provide a way to peace. Peace with God. Peace with one another. “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). We have a God of goodwill who sought us out and extended to us an olive branch of peace. We can be part of a kingdom not of this world, this broken world – but an eternal kingdom of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Part of the fruit we display as a result of the Holy Spirit living within us is “peace” (Gal. 5:22). We live a life of faith that promises that “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ” (Phil. 4:7). God is trying to restore us to our rightful minds where there is balance and peace. He is teaching us how to live in peace, by extending love and goodwill to one another.

Perhaps the greatest blessing is that in addition to the peace of God, we’re promised that the “God of peace” will be with us (Phil. 4:9).