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

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more