“…For he himself is our peace…”

                 The popular refrain from the old ‘60’s pop hit was, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.”  But the world is in desperate need of something equally important — peace.  Terrorists’ attacks on the WTC’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon in Washington, DC and elsewhere highlight this need.  Hot spots and flash points all over the world, along with global terrorism, reinforce the idea that our planet is anything but a peaceful place.  Any visitor to earth would surely conclude that the place is beautiful but the natives frequently make it dangerous.  Why such turmoil and such animosity in a life so short?

When God told Adam that he would die if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there was a lot more involved in that than just simple dying.  The characteristics of death would suddenly be thrust upon all of life, including and especially relationships.  A standard dictionary definition of peace usually begins with “a state of tranquility” followed by “lack of disturbance or conflict.”  Only later does it mention harmonious relationships.  But this latter definition is what the Greek word means, whether the relationship is man-to-man, God-to-man, or nation-to-nation.

Interestingly, the word harmony, as in harmonious relationships, is a musical word.  A harmony is created when multiple notes blend or go together to make a pleasing sound to the ear.  This is often called a chord.  The word chord is related to the word accord, which means “agree or reconcile.”  It comes from the Latin word for heart.  When people are in accord, there is unity, a blending of personalities and purposes that is pleasing and agreeable.  And in such relationships you find peace or harmony.  It is so much more than just the absence of conflict.

It was this kind of peace that filled the Garden of Eden.  Beyond its indescribable pristine beauty, Adam and Eve experienced the spiritual counterpart to that beauty — perfect, secure and nourishing peace with their Maker.  God, after all, is “the God of peace” (Romans 15:33, 16:20, etc.) who shared what was transmissible of his image to mankind.  Adam and Eve enjoyed both peace with God and with each other.

But then came the test and mankind’s dismal failure.  The presence of death first became evident after the discovery of their nakedness.  That winsome peace was forever broken beyond human repair, screaming out against their leafy coverings.  Human relationships on earth would never again experience the same harmonious quality.  No one has ever returned to that garden. “Paradise lost” is more than an empty cliché or a title for a poem.  It is the epitome of human failure.  Today we don’t even know where the garden was.  Our ignorance of its location matches our incapacity to can regain that peace on our own.

Now enter Jesus into the cosmic storyline.  At one point he told his disciples, “I did not come to bring peace to the earth…but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).  No peace?  His point was that he was not going to bring the kind of peace defined by man.  You know what that is — when everything I want I get, when what I want to happen happens, when everything turns out right for me, including being “at peace” with my spiritually hostile, unsaved family members.  Jesus will have nothing to do with this kind of ‘peace.’

But for those who choose to follow him, he said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace” (John 16:33).  What things?  Those teachings in the three previous chapters recorded the same night he was betrayed.  And just how is this peace to be realized?  It is only “in [him].”  Who before him or since said such things?  In the Cold War era, communists defined peace as the time when the whole world was finally communist.  Similarly in resurgent Islam, jihadist Muslims say peace will arrive when everyone submits to Allah.  Buddhists claim that when a person perfectly balances his/her karma, peace will be achieved when they melt into nirvana.  But no one else said that peace is found “in me.”  No tricks, no formulas, no gimmicks, no steps, no smoke and mirrors.  Just him.  This is a claim to deity, plain and simple.  And his peace is big enough, strong enough, and lasting enough to be for the whole world (Eph. 2:14-18).

When we enter heaven we will experience God’s full peace.  How much of it do you have now?