Thursday, March 30, 2017

Peace

Well, we have come to that time of the year. What time of the year, you ask? Well, that time of the year when our thoughts turn to fuzzy little bunnies and colored eggs. I am convinced, that for the most part we have forgotten the meaning behind Easter. Or more especially what brought us to the point.
 
Think about this for a moment, or all day if you like.  Luke 19:41-44 -- "And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.'"
 
What are the things that make for peace? Well, for one, it is the total vanquishment of the enemy. Once your enemy is hobbled and no longer able to disrupt your peace, you will have peace. Within this thought is the idea that we all struggle with enemies, demons if you will, within us that strive to disrupt our peace. Paul informs us in Philippians 4:7 -- "...the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Jesus is quoted, in John 14:27, as saying "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give to you." This peace that passes all comprehension, comes not from destroying another person, but from destroying those passions that reign so strongly within us. We can never be at peace, until we are at peace within our self and with God. All the martyrs down through the ages have attested to this fact...once we have peace with God, we will have peace unspeakable and full of glory.