Daily Devotions
Today’s Reading: John 14:23-31 & Psalm 4
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” John 14:27
Peace! We want peace between nations, in our communities, among family, within ourselves. But in thinking of peace only as the absence of war, civil unrest, quarreling, and personal conflict, we overlook a most important quality of true peace—its “givingness.”
Our Lord said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” Take note of the verbs He used—leave, give, gives. Peace is a gift passed from one to another. If parents stay calm in an emergency, their children will, too. If the teacher comes in the classroom smiling, the students relax. If the boss handles a difficult situation calmly, the office remains at peace. Peace gives peace!
The peace Christ gives also has this quality of “givingness.” As Christ gives His peace, it doesn’t just sit there in the lives of believers. Rather, as we receive and experience God’s peace, we share it—passing it along in word and action. Because Christ has given me His peace, I am at peace with myself and with others, because I know He is with me.
Just how active and powerful is His peace? God demonstrated His peace with us when He sent Jesus into the flesh to be our Savior. His peace with us compels us to share and spread the message of God’s peace and love with others. We are part of a larger company of peace-and-love receivers and peace-and-love spreaders.
We have His peace … His love … His grace … Peace be with you!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, giver of all peace, grant us the gift of the Holy Spirit so we may be empowered to spread the gift of true peace so more lives may be touched by the peace of Christ, through whom we pray. Amen.
Response
How do your thoughts, words, and actions give His peace to others?