Peace: An Introduction

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2

Ahhhh... peace! What a topic! The masters of philosophy and intellect have been discussing this very subject in great depth since the dark ages. What is peace? Is it just the absence of war? From a biblical standpoint I would definitely argue that there is much more to it than that! Even non-Christians agree that peace can be a "religious idea." When speaking of inner peace the Buddhists and many others would be quick to add their idea of peace to the mixing bowl. Unfortunately, there is a common thread throughout most of these ideas... mans ability, on his own, to find peace. Then the question arises, "Where do you find peace?"
If you walk into a room full of people and suddenly declare, "Peace be with you all!" there would be many confused and blank stares, I think, that you would receive in response. Why? Because most people are searching for peace, but don't know where it's found...
You see, most people think peace is found in possessions... but then you reach the top of the industry and realize that there's still something missing! Why can't you find peace and satisfaction in the things of this life. There is a quote at the end of "The Last Samurai," one of my favorite movies, which goes something like this, "I like to think that he found some small measure of peace, that same peace that we all search for." I have probably just grossly butchered this quote, but hopefully you can forgive me. The idea remains, peace is something attained by our own might.
However, we understand peace, from a biblical perspective to be much more than we could ever accomplish on our own. Paul says it every time he opens a letter to a church, "grace and peace"... but he doesn't end it there! No, he gives us the source of this grace and this peace that we are to have... "from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ..." God is the source of our peace, and our relationship with Him will determine whether or not we have true peace, or just some fake remodeling of comfort that the world has to offer. Comfort is quite different from peace... You can be living in the comfort of a home and still be tormented by worries and doubt. You know what I mean! We've all been there! There is nothing quite as personal as our own fears that reside within us. But, when you look at Christ... He says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28
Rest... physical, emotional, mental? All of the above, I think! Peace is found in knowing God and knowing that He has a plan for your life that is greater than anything you could ever dream of! Resting in that promise is where our faith is tried... it's easy to say that we trust God when things are going well, but when the hard times roll... Do you have peace that passes all understanding and that comes from a source greater than yourself? If not, you will have precious little impact for the Kingdom.... Why? Because you must rest in the Shadow of the Almighty if you are to withstand and survive the persecution and ridicule that Christ said we will have to endure for His name's sake.
I have said all of this to make one point! Peace, true peace, can be found in God alone. We will look at what this means, in our own lives, in more detail as we go throughout this week. Right now I just want you to reflect on what you think of when you hear the word "peace." Please, if you have anything, send me an e-mail of your personal definition of peace. You can send it to afflquestions@yahoo.com and I'll be sure and read it. Do you have a testimony of God's peace working through your life? I would love to hear about it! I will share some stories of peace in my life a little later on this week, but for now I would like you to pray that God would show you true peace, in Him. Seek first the kingdom of God! He takes care of His children... we must learn to lean on Him, for He has already promised His faithfulness. Peace is when you watch someone go through seemingly the most difficult circumstances a person could ever face, and yet they walk boldly forward, proclaiming Christ as their Comforter and their joy. This is the truth behind what Paul says in Philippians 3:7-9, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith..."

Praise God that we have such a faithful cloud of witnesses that have exemplified a true peace and faith in God! Friends, I hope you will pray with me for the peace of God to be grown in your life. We will be looking more in-depth into how peace is related to other areas of our lives over the next few days. Until then...
Grace and Peace!

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you! Please e-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .