Truth Plus Loveنموونە

Billy Graham shared the gospel message with more people than just about anyone. People flocked to hear him preach. His regular message was, “The only way to lasting peace is through faith in Jesus Christ.” 

Many celebrities who appear to “have it all” have clearly shown this to be true. Although they have experienced all the fame, fortune, and pleasures the world has to offer . . . they are still deeply broken, and have no peace or satisfaction. 

God not only calls us to truth; He also calls us to a life of peace—both inner peace and outer peace. Jesus came into this world to give us innerpeace, and when we accept the message of the gospel, our hearts are flooded with that peace. 

Of course, there will be moments in our lives when we will feel more anxiety than peace. In those moments, the Bible calls us to guard our hearts and minds with God’s peace (see Philippians 4:6–7). Jesus warned us there would be challenges to our lives that would try to shake our peace, but that we could find unshakeable peace in Him in spite of everything (see John 16:33). 

As Christians, we can be calm in a crazy world. God’s sovereignty reminds us the world will never spin out of His control. No matter what we face in this life, if we choose Jesus, we are heading to perfect joy with God in eternity forever. 

The Bible also calls us to walk in outerpeace with the world around us. God directs us to constantly work toward peace in the world. People will be drawn to us by the way we walk in peace and unity with other Christians. Unity doesn’t mean uniformity—we can live with respect and Christlike love in spite of our differences and different opinions. Living peacefully with other Christians will show the watching world that this peace Christ gives is unique. 

We are not called to respond the same way the world does. We are called to have a different spirit. We must be people who praise God and say praiseworthy things. We need to have the discipline to hold our tongues (and our social media posts) and not say everything that comes to mind. 

It may be helpful to mute voices that stir our anger. If we open our Bibles instead, we allow God’s peace to invade our souls. 

God calls us to walk in His peace, not add our voices to the world’s chaos. When we do speak the truth, our tone, motivations, and heart should be the opposite of this world. We should have the tone of peacemakers. 

When we walk with this inner and outer peace, we will gain influence with people around us: our family, our neighborhood, our workplace, and our world.

Respond

How has Jesus’ peace been evident in your life? How does it influence the way you react to circumstances in the world? 

What can you do to walk in greater peace with others? How can you hold your tongue, forgive, or apologize when you need to?

When have you responded to someone too quickly or harshly? How can you respond with peace next time? Are there times when you should not respond at all?