Peace

There is a kind of peace that exists as a result of catering to worldly affairs, and a kind of peace that comes from knowing God. The kind of peace that we’re going to address here is that which comes from knowing God. The Greek word for peace here is, eirene: it doesn’t necessarily constitute an absence of trouble; rather, it is peace that often makes itself known in the ability to endure hardship without making moral compromises. In other words, even when a person is going through a time of trouble they will continue to be just as faithful to Jesus Christ as they would be if they were going through a season of joy. This might be hard to imagine for some; but when we look at the condition of peace from a moral standpoint rather than merely seeing it as an emotional state it is easy to see how it could be possible. For one doesn’t have to lose hope in order to weep, that is, feelings don’t always mean what they appear to suggest to those who behold them. After all, even Jesus wept (John 11:35). Yet His tears were not a sign of weakness, but a revelation of His love for humanity. Moreover, there were times when He became angry; not for self-centered purposes, but as a result of encountering greed and injustice among His people (John 2:13-17). Yet even though Jesus wept and was angry at times, through it all He was at peace with God the Father.

Therefore, not only do we need to be careful not to assume that a person’s heart isn’t right with God simply because they’re going through certain kinds of emotions, we need to exercise caution in how we measure our own feelings too. For many have been led to believe that it’s not right to foster certain kinds of feelings when in fact it is healthy to do so. This is important to note because the devil likes to play on the emotions of people in order to manipulate thought processes. For example, many people have been deceived into believing that they shouldn’t cry when a believer passes away, as it is assumed that such weeping is a sign of hopelessness. But as mentioned earlier, even Jesus wept as a result of someone dying whom He had loved. Are we to believe that He was hopeless because He wept? Of course not! And here’s an interesting point to consider: Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead; yet he still wept for him anyway! This should be a wake-up call to those who accuse others of lacking faith for weeping when believers fall victim to the sting of death; it should encourage them to be less judgmental and more in tune to the feelings that God has towards His children.

It’s interesting how such people accuse others of being hopeless while being unaware of the fact that the enemy is using them to serve his purpose in destroying hope! You see, the objective behind such manipulation is to get people to become indifferent to the feelings of others, so that they will cease to love in the way that God expects them to, and thus cause those who don’t know Jesus to believe that Christians are cold and callous. This is a major turn-off for many, and could result in pushing people away from Jesus Christ; as such people would appear to be unloving, and would therefore make Christianity look like a monster rather than a movement of love and compassion. Furthermore, it could cause babes in Christ to assume that God perceives them as sinning against Him for being too emotional, thereby hindering their growth in Christ. Listen, not only are we expected to be at peace with God; we are called to be peacemakers. Therefore, it isn’t wrong to be emotional, providing that our emotions agree with God’s emotions, of course. After all, Christ already proved that God is emotional. And if we are going to become one with Him as is expected, then we will be emotional too.

With that said; how do you respond to adversity? Do you often give in to the temptation of making moral compromises in order to make life easier for yourself, or to make peace with others? Or do you hold your ground and honor Jesus Christ even when it hurts to do so? How do you respond to those who are hurting? Are you quick to judge their hearts and assume that they aren’t right with God simply because you don’t share their feelings, or do you try to empathize with them and seek to comfort them in Christ? Indeed, those who experience God’s peace are those who have learned how to remain faithful to Him under all circumstances. They don’t compromise their integrity for worldly peace; instead, they pledge their allegiance to Jesus Christ in all things, and are even willing to die for their faith if necessary. Moreover, they show themselves to be loving and kind towards others. They aren’t careless when it comes to dealing with emotions, but careful to try to demonstrate what it means to love like God.

Conclusion

Now that we have examined the words, Bondservants, Saints, Grace, and Peace, we can proceed to put the pieces together as follows:

Upon agreeing to commit their life to Jesus Christ, a sinner accesses God’s grace and thus becomes morally blameless in His yes. As a result of this they can be confident knowing that they are at peace with God, understanding that as long as they remain in Christ their future is secure. Of course, if all of this is to become a reality for anyone then nothing can be left out. In other words, in order to be a ‘saint’ one must be a ‘bondservant’ too; and in order to experience true ‘peace’ one must first access God’s ‘grace’. For we can’t serve God in bits and pieces and expect to reap the full measure of His blessing. If we want our lives to be all that He wants for us then we must abide in Jesus Christ. When a person chooses to give their life to Jesus in this way something will be seen in them that wasn’t apparent before; though they will continue to live in this world, their actions will disclose that they are citizens of the Kingdom of God, being complete in Jesus Christ, and therefore lacking in nothing.

• Go back to: Lessons from Philippians
• Go to the next lesson: Joyful Memories