Thought for Today
Job 22:21 "Agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you.
Psalm 4:8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Luke 24:36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
It seems that every time I turn on the television news, someone is reporting on some war, demonstration or disturbance somewhere. The Bible mentions that word more than 250 times. Sometimes, as in the verses above, peace is mentioned as a real, possible state of being. Other times it almost seems an impossibility, e.g., the prophet Jeremiah twice wrote, “They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.” (6:14 and 8:11) The prophet Isaiah wrote, "48:22 There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." Is peace real? Is peace possible? Peace in our lives? Peace in our world?
I was born during WWII. During my youth, many nations were involved with the Korean Conflict. Later, there was the Viet Nam Conflict. Can you hear Sonny and Cher singing “and the beat goes on?” Is the list of wars, police actions, conflicts and all of the other euphemisms endless? Has any generation ever truly known peace?
Yesterday, after Sunday morning worship, as we rested at home, we heard a discussion on the news about the current ‘disturbance’ in the Middle East. On one show there was a discussion about what might be done to resolve the conflict in Gaza. On another there were interviews with an American pediatrician who has volunteered his services on several tours to treat children who were injured in Gaza.
Sometimes, even when there are no active wars or military conflicts in ‘progress,’ there are civil disturbances. Many of us probably remember the ‘60s, the era of antiwar demonstrations around much of our globe. That was also a decade of political and societal upheaval. I remember watching newscasts from Chicago, San Francisco and many other cities in the U.S.A., as well as in many foreign countries, none of which showed noticeable ‘outbreaks’ of peace.
Yet, once again, we are in Lent. We are looking forward to Palm Sunday and then Easter morning. In 2 weeks we will celebrate the Empty Tomb. As a Christian, and especially as a minister, I cannot help but ponder at the fact that all these 2020+ years later, our world is still engulfed in wars and conflicts, there is still civil unrest and this year, in the midst of it all, we face economic uncertainty. "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.” Are we the “wicked” to whom those words of Isaiah apply?
I believe Eliphaz the Temanite spoke prophetically to Job when he spoke those words above, “Agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you.” Peace, real peace in our hearts, in our lives and in our world is possible, but only when we agree with God. We (sometimes too casually) pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Can any Christian, or even any unbeliever, think for a minute that heaven is a place of endless, pointless conflict?
Jesus left his peace with us, for us. Jesus’ life and his ministry were confirmed by the Empty Tomb we will encounter once again on Easter morning. Jesus did not preach and teach conflict. Jesus did not preach and teach discord or war. Jesus did warn us that these will all occur. He spoke of “wars and rumors of wars.” Jesus said, "Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
And yet, Jesus left us his peace. His first post-Resurrection greeting, to those travelers on the road to Emmaus, was "Peace be with you." What was/is that peace? How do we realize that peace? "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." What a wonderful world that will be!
Stay safe, pray for the peace which comes about through love, trust God,
Pastor Ray