Christ: The Treasure of Our HeartsSample

It seems to me that we often define peace in terms of lack. We find peace when the discord subsides, the conflict ends, the stress is alleviated, hostility abates, arms are laid down, or a ceasefire is called. While peace is no less than the lack of these things, is that all it is? The problem is that when we think about peace as the lack of something negative, peace has no substance of its own. Thus, we seek to instill peace by triumphing over our foes, isolating ourselves from things disturbing our peace, finding an escape, or ignoring the turmoil we experience. After all, if we do not talk about it, we can pretend it (whatever it is) isn’t really happening.

We may define peace as a state of mind or being. Peace exists when we achieve a state of inner tranquility or a calm state of attentiveness. We experience peace when the noise around and within us stills, and we can simply be. Peace is relaxing and soothing.

Yet, Scripture paints a radically different picture of peace. God’s peace, his shalom, is not the absence of turmoil but a radical presence. When we experience shalom, we recognize the presence of relational, economic, and personal healing and wholeness in our lives. That presence brings the renewal of the Kingdom of God into the world. As Paul tells us in Ephesians, God’s peace isn’t a state of being. God’s peace is a Person – Jesus Christ. When the Word of God took on the flesh of humankind (John 1:14), his flesh broke the dividing wall of hostility – not just between God and humanity but also within the human community.

Jesus is our peace, because when he took on human flesh, as Athanasius would tell us, “he became what we are, so that we could become what he is.” This doesn’t mean we become divine or something other than human. It means that because of the peace Jesus brings, we become, like Him, beloved sons and daughters of the Father. Because Jesus was born, those who were far off (everyone who has sinned) were brought near and reconciled to the Father. Jesus is our peace because he unites us with the family of God comprised of men and women from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue (Rev 7:9). Jesus grabs hold of us from within in order to heal us and bring peace, no matter the turmoil that may surround us.

Prayer

O Father, author of all peace and restoration, we thank you that in your Son, peace is not the lack of something but the radical presence of your Kingdom at work. Today, may we know the presence of your Son in our lives, bringing peace, healing, and renewal in ourselves and the world around us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Melissa Davis, Ph.D., serves as adjunct faculty for the Regent University School of Divinity.