October 25, 2004
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27). Implied in what Jesus said is that “worldly peace” and “spiritual peace” are not the same thing.
I suspect almost everyone desires Peace (with the notable exception of terrorists, who thrive on the absence of Peace). As with all life disguises, many never achieve Peace because they are seeking Peace’s illusion. Here are some of those illusions:
Absence of Conflict. Do not make the mistake of equating Peace with the absence of conflict. From the moment we enter the world, life is a struggle to survive. The Prince of Peace found himself in constant conflict with religion, politics, economy and even his own family. There have been far too few years of peace on earth. Gustave Valbert reported that from the year 1496 B.C. to A.D. 1861, in 3,358 years there were 227 years of peace and 3,130 years of war, or 13 years of war to every year of peace. Within the last three centuries, there have been 286 wars in Europe. He added that from the year 1500 B.C to A.D. 1860 more than 8,000 treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time they remained in force was two years. Mahatma Gandhi said, “An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Those who seek worldly peace seem doomed to disappointment. However, I pray for Peace on earth every day.
Pacifism. Having said Peace is not the absence of conflict, I hasten to add Peace is not pacifism. In a utopian world, there would be no fighting. Yet, Genesis records that when only four people occupied this globe, (all members of one family), one brother killed another, and wiped out 25% of the world’s population in a single blow. I am reasonably sure Adam, Eve, Cain and Able were of the same race, the same religion (Methodists, I am quite sure), the same political party, and had the same economic standing. So what caused “the first war?” SIN; it seems to be within our nature to fight, to kill each other. What a sad and painful thing to admit! But sometimes, when evil assails, we must fight, or being overtaken by that evil. If being a pacifist would bring Peace, I would be a pacifist. As well intentioned as it may be, pacifism just doesn’t work.
Freedom from Concern. Another illusion of Peace is an escape from the concerns of life, or being “worry free”. I often hear people say “their problems” robbed them of Peace. Listen, the day your problems end is the day we put you in the ground. We have already said in this series that worry, or anxiety, is the opposite of Faith. There will always be concerns that demand our attention and our action. Jesus again is our example. While the boat was tossed by the midnight winds and his disciples were terrified, Jesus was calm, asleep in the center of the boat, in the center of the storm.
So what IS Peace? (1) Peace is that Christ-like calm in the midst of the storm, that inner sense of well being. It is not irrational fearlessness that denies danger. It is as Ethel Waters sang, “Why should I be discouraged…For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!” (2) Peace is the God-given sense of well being that enables us, as Jesus did, to overcome our fears and do the right thing, for the right reason, at the right time.
John Greenleaf Whittier well said, “Peace hath higher tests of manhood, Than battle ever knew.”
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