“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
The peace of Christ is not the peace of the world. If history is any criterion, the search for world peace always will be futile, for there have been wars going on somewhere in the world practically every day throughout history.
But even if world leaders could bring peace to the world, it would not be true peace. “My peace,” said Jesus, “is not as the world giveth.” Peace is internal, not external. “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1).
The true Christian will never be left at peace in the world, even when there are brief respites of peace between the nations of the world. Only in Christ is there real peace. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The Lord Jesus Christ alone can give true peace, for only “he is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). He is the true peacemaker, for He “made peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20). Before there can ever be genuine peace between man and man on Earth, there must be peace between man on Earth and God in heaven.
Once a person has been “justified by faith,” however, he has eternal “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Then, for daily peace, he can simply appropriate this truth in his life. “In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). HMM
