Skip to main content

Peace?


Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11)

            Peace has been on my mind recently. Christmas is often associated with "Peace on earth, good will toward men." As I scrolled through John looking for "Peace I give you, not as the world gives..." I came across today's passage. At first glance, it does and doesn't have to do with peace. Yes, Jesus commanded Peter to put his sword away, and that is one aspect of peace. But the other half of what He says is also about peace. "Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" Whatever the Father said, Jesus accepted, even when it meant battling with Himself. He was at peace with the Father. 
           All peace requires absolute, unconditional surrender. The peace the world talks about is absolute, unconditional surrender to it. The peace God talks about is absolute, unconditional surrender to Him. The peace we naturally want is absolute, unconditional surrender to us. If only "they" would listen to me....  Whoever dictates the terms of that peace is the god of that relationship. 
            This morning, I find myself thinking back to my walk, during the prayer time in which I ask God to bless each residence I pass, my friends, relatives, neighbors and communities with some aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. No matter which one I asked, I think I have been sort of expecting God to bring "sweetness and light" into their lives. The truth of the matter is that I've been asking God to bring something powerful and difficult into their lives. As I consider the fruit of the Spirit, every one of them (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) are hard. They are demanding. They are most powerfully expressed in the face of opposition. Perhaps that's why they are the fruit of the Spirit - because only God can bring them about in our lives, and that only with work. 
            And still, I will continue to pray for you all using the fruit of the Spirit, because while you might not see them as a blessing as they are worked into your life, they are.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more