"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid" (John 14:27).
When it was time for Jesus to accomplish the mission of redeeming mankind and return to the Father, his disciples were worried and he knew it. So in the first verse of the chapter, he told them: "Do not be worried and upset. . . Believe in God and believe also in me." From all he had, he chose to leave his disciples with peace. They had power to perform miracles but that was not enough. They needed the peace of God.
Today we find ourselves in various situations that make us anxious and worried. We worry about what may happen if our investments fail to yield good returns, our promotions do not come on time or a loved one does not recover from illness. At times we get so depressed that we lose interest in life. We feel lonely, like no one in the world cares about us. When we get to those moments, we must remember that Jesus cares. He felt for his disciples, how lonely they would feel without him. So he left them with his own peace and promised them a comforter.
The peace of Christ teaches us patience and gives us confidence. It makes us less anxious sure of our victory through Christ that strengthens us. We know that when Christ died on the cross, he cried out, 'it is finished'. He had finished the battle for us! We don't know how; we only know that he died that we may have life more abundantly. The troubles in our lives have been defeated. We may not have evidence, but we know by faith that they are. This life is just a football video: we know our team won. We may not know how until we watch it, but someone (Jesus) has told us the result and the important thing is the end result which is victory for us.
"Believe in me," Jesus told them. Now a lot of things depend on what we believe. Do we believe Christ died for our sins, that he loves us? Do we believe we have access to the Father? He told the disciples, "for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God" (15:27). Friends, let us believe in God and have faith in him. Let us rely on the Holy Spirit for comfort and company. We can tell him when we are hungry; he understands when we are pressed and can't find a toilet to ease ourselves. I mean he attends to all our needs no matter how little. Now leave your troubles with the Lord for he cares for you.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, remain with us now and always. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment