MORE PEACE

What a world we live in! Wars rage around the world and new wars are straining to break out all the time. We are bombarded by news of natural disasters like floods, storms, earthquakes and fires. Then there is always sickness, crime and death! Families breaking up- jobs being lost- our world is filled with distress, uncertainty, fear, conflict- where can we find more peace?

The sad answer is no matter where we look in this world- inside ourselves or to the people who fill the world around us- we will never find the true, lasting peace we want and need.

But that wasn't always true. Once upon a time there was peace- inside, outside and all around. The first humans, Adam and Eve, knew perfect peace inside themselves, between each other, among all the creatures God had made, and most importantly, true and perfect peace between themselves and God their loving Creator.

Of course they shattered and destroyed that peace when they disobeyed their God and ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3). Their world was changed, their relationship was changed, and their human family- our human family- lost that original peace. It was irretrievably gone from them. No matter what they did or how hard they tried, they could not restore the peace after they had selfishly thrown it away.

But could there be peace again? One man thought so. The night before He died, even knowing how and when He was going to die, Jesus Christ told His followers, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

Making peace with our God, with our world and with ourselves is completely impossible for us. So God took it upon Himself to restore those broken relationships and win that peace for us. Jesus Christ, God's own Son became human and took upon Himself all His heavenly Father's wrath and hostility against our first parents' rebellion and our continuing rebellion as He died in our place on the cross. By His sacrifice and death He restored peace between our heavenly Father and us. He lives in us to restore peace in our human relationships, and when He comes again He will restore peace to His creation.

On that great day, Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace, will look at everything His hands once made and will have then restored and He will again declare, "It is very good." On that day our perfect peace will last forever and ever.