Peace, Man

John 14:27 I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.

I don’t know precisely what it is but there seems to be more and more conflict in the world ideological conflict, political conflict, and conflict too at a personal and interpersonal level which is the opposite of the one thing that we all long for: peace.

Back in the 1960’s when I was a lad, two big things were going on. The first was the Cold War; America and the Soviet Union in a Mexican standoff, pointing thousands of nuclear missiles at one another. The only thing that stopped them from pulling the trigger, so to speak, was Mutually Assured Destruction – or MAD as it was aptly named. Although in October 1962, the world came “this close” to global destruction during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As a reaction to all that, the second big thing that was going on was the whole hippy movement, flower power thing. “Make love, not war” was their catch cry. And I distinctly remember – I was just a small kid – these long-haired guys with droopy moustaches walking down the street, making the “V” sign with their fingers, saying “Peace, man”.

Hmm. Peace. That was over half a century ago and yet there still are around seventy-five “armed conflicts” as they’re called these days, raging in the world today. Many of those hippies are in nursing homes … or dead, and still no peace.

While global peace may be beyond the likes of thee and me, peace in our own lives, peace in our hearts … now that’s something that we all need and want. Question is, where do you get it? Jesus said this:

John 14:27 I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.

There’s only one place you’ll find true peace – Jesus.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.