The Peace of the World

Jesus gives his peace. And he does not give it the way the world does. The peace of the world is the sense of security and achievement that comes from succeeding in the everyday life as proposed by whichever society I find myself in. That I have enough money and enough of a career. Enough street cred and enough reputation. Enough connections and enough innovation. Enough drive and enough motivation. It sneaks up on me. At first, I’m just accepting the gifts of the Lord. But then I slowly start to extrapolate a vision of a safe and secure future from the success factors I see in my life. That’s not what true peace looks like. That is a shadow at best, a dead clone and a shallow copy of the true peace that Jesus gives. For as soon as I give my trust and move my happiness into those things that shine so brightly and bode so well for my future, just as soon they show how brittle they are and my heart is filled with fear and anxiety. Jesus gives his peace in a way that relieves my heart of its troubles. This, the world cannot do. If I trust in anything other than Jesus, it will give some sort of peace but will inevitably fill my heart with trouble eventually. I don’t want that. I want the true peace. I want Jesus.

All of this will fall down. All of this will pass away. All of my achievements will fade. All of my possessions will turn to dust. All of my relationships will be forgotten. All of my skills will rot. All of my passion will wither away. All of my will power will shrink to nothing. All of my impact will have been for nothing. All of my life will end. And when that happens, Jesus will remain. His words will never pass away. His joy will last, his presence will remain. His peace will forever overflow. I will not trade it. I will not lose sight of it. I will not throw it away or leave it behind. I will grab it with both hands, and I will never let go. Jesus, never let go.