John

Описание: Years ago, I was in the process of preparing a Christmas message series, and I posed a question to my wife while we were out for a walk one evening. I asked her to consider all the people in her life – our family, our neighbors, her friends at work, the people in our congregation – and describe her sense of their deepest desire for that holiday season. Without the slightest hesitation, she answered, “peace.” She said, “They long for peace in their lives.”

I’ll bet you can relate to that longing. And although I’m tempted to think it must be more true for those of us dealing with the multiplying fears, stresses, uncertainties, and complexities of our time, I’d be wrong. The yearning for peace – personal, relational, political, and global – has defined humanity throughout history. And its pursuit has been the driving force behind most of the choices and actions – good and bad – of all people everywhere for all time.

And it was true for the disciples of Jesus as they wrestled with the unsettling news that he would be leaving them soon. That’s why John 14:27 contains the words of his very precious promise to leave them with the gift of peace. He carefully described it as, “my peace,” and lovingly assured them it wouldn’t be the shallow, transitory type the world offers.

His peace is not a mood, state of mind, feeling, or the result of a trouble-free life. It’s not contingent on internal or external conditions. It doesn’t come and go or ebb and flow. It’s a changeless extension of who Jesus is. In fact, the prophetic messianic birth announcement recorded in Isaiah 6:9 declared that the Promised One would be named, Prince of Peace.

So, when Jesus went on to tell the disciples not to allow their hearts to be troubled or become fearful, he wasn’t expecting them to create their own state of peacefulness. He wasn’t suggesting that they could experience it by any act of self-centering or adjustment of their circumstances. He was saying that the gift of his on-going presence in the person of the Holy Spirit would make it possible for them to live within the embrace of his peace as a choice.

And this was not a promise that applied only to those first disciples. Philippians 4:6-7 makes it clear that all Christ-followers can choose to live without anxiety by stepping under the canopy of his presence through prayer and enjoying the “peace of God” that defies explanation.

It can properly be said that peace is a person. The settled rest of mind and heart we all crave can be found only in a relationship with God through faith in Christ. If peace is not anchored to the unshakable security of the one who is unchangeable and immovable, any attempt to attain it will ultimately collapse in the shifting sands of circumstance.

So, if my wife was speaking for you while walking with me under stars that winter night when she said, “They long for peace,” it’s time to abandon everything that falsely promises to satisfy that longing. Instead, make the choice to trust the care of your troubled heart to the one who is peace personified. Hear him speaking to you from Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”