Peace
Romans 5:1 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, I know that conflict is a fact of life. It is. Unless you’re living as a hermit, you pretty much can’t make it through a single day without experiencing some conflict. But imagine if there could be peace – real peace. Right now, there are somewhere between forty and fifty wars, or “armed conflicts” as they’re called, going on across the globe. That’s staggering!
But even on a micro-scale, in their personal lives people have so much conflict going on … perhaps that’s why there’s such a deep yearning for peace. And yet for many – for most – peace remains so elusive. Many can’t even find peace in their own homes. There’s conflict, strife, abuse, divorce. Jesus, whether we realise it or not, was and is in the peace business.
Love your enemy. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Jesus was, and remains, quite the radical. He knows that the only way for peace to break out – between nations, between people – is for one side or the other to stop shooting; for someone to lay down their arms and refuse to fight; for someone to take a stand for peace; someone to love their enemy, come what may. That was always going to be a risky strategy. What if after laying down arms, the other side keeps fighting? But that was a risk that God was willing to take:
Romans 5:1 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This Easter thing that we’re about to celebrate is about God laying down arms. It’s about God making peace. It’s about God letting His Son, Jesus, pay the price of justice for our rebellion, so that there can be peace.
Peace between God and you. Jesus.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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