Christ Is Our Peace

 

My loaded-up to-do list sometimes gets me down. It seems like a mountain with steep walls and lots of slippery shale. Yesterday’s Scripture message put me on top of the mountain.

It was about the biblical teaching on work and reminded me that Jesus is my boss, and I do my work first and foremost for Him. How can I forget that, but sometimes I do. And when that happens, I know my own strength and abilities are insufficient and I become overwhelmed.

The young pastor who presented this message is a peacemaker because he restored to me that profound sense of peace that comes with trusting Jesus for everything. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Still, such peace is possible only because of Christ’s atonement. He made it possible to be at peace with God and with that reconciliation, I know His peace. This is far beyond any other peace; think of it — God is never the slightest bit ruffled over His to-do list!

Christ provided the forgiveness and righteousness that allows me to join hands with God and be involved in what He is doing. Not only that, He does His work through the work that I do. First and always, I need Him to deal with the sin issue. God did that: “Therefore, since I have been justified by faith, I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) His sacrifice is sufficient:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him . . . . (Colossians 1:19–22)

Jesus paid the supreme price to give me that precious gift of peace with God and as He holds my hand, I also experience the peace of God and can say this:

For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not my own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that I cannot boast. For I am his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Sunday’s message restored my sense of what I am doing and why I am doing it. This mountain is not about anything else but working for Jesus in His strength, and bringing His incredible presence into a dark and unhappy world. It is not about being a preacher, an evangelist, or a missionary, but being an ordinary person in whose heart the Prince of Peace reigns.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

What does this look like? It is about being filled with the Spirit and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:18–21). It is about letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, joy and with thankfulness in my heart to God (Colossians 3:16). It is about not being anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7). It is about being kept in perfect peace because He is always on my mind and I am always trusting Him for everything (Isaiah 26:3). It is about bringing rightness and beauty to dark places in love and with joy.

Jesus, this peace is also about looking at You instead of the mountain, or the storm, or the mess, or all the problems of life. It is Your peace, not a check mark beside each to-do item. It is like my daughter once said, “Mom, you don’t have to hurry on the inside.” I thank You for the peace of heart that comes from knowing You. My to-do list is not shorter, but that sense of it being too much has shriveled up into, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Wow, how I love You!

READ Philippians 4:4–9 and try not to forget any of it as I tackle today’s tasks that God has given me, and do them as if Jesus is doing them. May I deeply desire to bring peace into the lives of those who need it.

 

 

Who needs wine?

 

READ Song of Solomon 5–8

My parents seldom touched alcoholic beverages. Before I became a Christian, I had been married to an alcoholic and was divorced. Before the split, someone had to drive home so I didn’t drink, except once after a terrible event. I learned something from that: drinking too much did not erase the pain of that event but it did make it seem farther away, less hurtful.

After Christ came into my life, drinking liquor was even less interesting to me. The gift of God’s Spirit was far better in giving me whenever I felt a need for: joy and peace, confidence, or anything else that a shot of alcohol could promise but really didn’t deliver.

When the Holy Spirit came upon those first Christians after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, they were filled with joy and the ability to speak in other languages, but some of those looking on mocked and said, “They are filled with new wine.” (Acts 2:13) Later, Paul wrote:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18–21)

It was more than fifty years ago, but I still remember sitting on my front step in the sunshine and thinking how wonderful to feel God’s joy. I was divorced, had two children to raise, no job and a large farm to care for, but the peace of God was overwhelming, much better than booze could do.

However, in the book of Ecclesiastes, the intimacy of being in love is described in comparison to drinking fine wine . . .

I came to my garden, my sister, my bride, I gathered my myrrh with my spice, I ate my honeycomb with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love! (Song of Solomon 5:1)

Your mouth like the best wine. It goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding over lips and teeth. (Song of Solomon 7:9)

This feeling of euphoria that comes with booze, or even with love is the best a human writer can do to give any non-Christian reader a description of what it is like to be ‘wed’ to the Lord Jesus Christ. I think of the people I know that need a glass of wine to settle their nerves, or give them some sort of boost after a hard day, or to help them ‘fit it’ with everyone else at a party, or whatever it is that wine does for them — and the Holy Spirit does all that and more. Instead of thinking of my own need or issues, the Spirit sets my mind on the needs of others. He gives me a supernatural focus — and for me, a generally selfish, me-first kind of person, it is supernatural. Normally I don’t like small talk or crowds. I’d rather work alone than with friends. Some might call me an extreme introvert, but when the Holy Spirit takes over, I’m the opposite. Like being in love, it is simply joyful (unless I ruin it by turning that joy into a gift for me instead of for others, and glorying in it instead of in God who gives it).

Today’s reading ends with, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.” (Song of Solomon 8:7) There is nothing more valuable, more enduring, more delightful than the love of God poured out through a person filled with God’s Spirit. When I am around those who fit this description, it feels like the best of parties without the hangover and without a need for a designated driver. This is a party with unity, not loud arguments, and with a deep care for the joy of others rather than a desire for personal well-being. The only way to describe it is like Solomon did — by comparing it to two people who are madly in love with each other!