MISSING PEACE

 DECEMBER 29, 2022

JOHN 14:15-27

15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
22Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
23Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

If you ask people, “What is peace?", you will receive a range of responses:

Peace and quiet
Tranquility
Freedom from disturbance
Lack of oppressive thoughts or feelings
Harmonious relationships
Time without war
Absence of hostility or harm

Those answers are quite good, don’t you think? These answers though are usually from a viewpoint that peace is the absence of conflict, war, opposition, or tension. I find that this kind of peace is temporary and is dependent upon circumstances. That’s where questions like “Did the angels waste their words? come from, or the declaration “there is no peace on earth," as Longfellow mourned. According to the world when things are calm, we are at peace. When our circumstances grow dreary, gloomy, or tense we’re not at peace.

Do you recall yesterday’s scripture where Jesus promises his peace to us and then says that there is a distinction between his peace and the world’s peace? The rejection of his peace brought Jesus to tears as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We Read in Luke 19 that “as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. What grieved Jesus at this moment was that he wanted to give something better to people than a peace that depended on the insecurity of circumstance.

In John 14:27, Jesus doesn’t want our hearts to be troubled. Because although we concern ourselves with earthly struggles, He’s offering a permanent solution, which is His peace. The Creator of peace is the One who created us. He is our Lord, our Creator, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father and our Prince of Peace offering the gift of a deep lasting Peace that is not based on circumstances or feelings, but on the foundation of God's desire for his peaceful favor to rest on all.

Peace peace wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever I pray
In fathomless billows of love

What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace
Buried deep in the heart of my soul
So secure that no power can mine it away
While the years of eternity roll

I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace
Resting sweetly in Jesus' control
For I'm kept from all danger by night and by day
And His glory is flooding my soul

Peace peace wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever I pray
In fathomless billows of love