John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer I have overcome the world.”
It may seem to a child of faith that all the world gives is trouble and a hard way to go. John 14:27 says that the world gives peace. It is not the kind of peace that Christ gives. The peace that the world gives is a narcotic for man’s natural conscience. In Proverbs 7 there is a story of a young man who is infatuated by sin. Verse 22 reads, “He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter.” The young man is laughing and enjoying himself, but knows not that he is on his way to death. He is enjoying the peace of the world. The world gives peace, not by removing the source of conflict, but by deadening the senses so a person does not feel any need to fight.
Christ gives peace, not by removing the person from the conflict, but by changing his attitude toward victory. Christ gives His child a sensitive conscience, so he will struggle to overcome sin and not give in to it. Christ, in this verse, promises to leave His peace, and to give His peace to every believer. It is through Christ that the believer is assured of peace with God. Because of Christ, every believer may have confidence that God holds nothing against him. In Phil. 4:7 we read, “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The peace of Christ is not a narcotic for the conscience. Christ has really and truly removed the source of conflict between the believer and God. Even though things may sometimes be dark and painful, the soul may rest at peace; all is well. God has assured the believer that victory will be the outcome after his stay on this earth. There will be opened for him an entrance into everlasting joy and peace in the presence of God. The believer has a solid foundation upon which to stand because Christ really has undertaken for him the work that secures his peace with God.
The peace of the believer is not a narcotic; it is founded on reality. The peace of God that God gives to his child holds the soul steady, even in the midst of the storms of life. This peace is truly of great value!
Older
Top
