Peace that is not of this world

  She had a tube in her nose. Her eyes were swollen. She kept moaning and shaking her head as if trying to get rid of some unseen thing bothering her. Now and then she coughed, wincing. Her suffering was painful to behold. I stood by her hospital bed-side and held her shriveled bandaged hand in mine, trying to massage some relief into her. She was conscious and not conscious. She didn't know me, and I didn't know her. But the message that had come from this 96 year old lady's grand-daughter was simple - please pray for my grandma....she screams in pain. I just want her to go peacefully, without any more suffering. How can one not respond to a heart's cry like that? Another similar one from a fren whose husband had been diagnosed with final stage cancer.... Please pray for peace...He has been in and out of hospital. I want God's will to be done quickly. One week later, I attended his funeral wake. Over in Sabah, after more than 3 weeks stand-off, violence broke out between M'sian security forces and Sulu invaders, resulting in some 60 over deaths. Even as the pre-election rhetoric gets pumped up by every political party, prayers are being offered up for peace to prevail whatever the outcome, because everyone is being warned of possible chaos.

If there is an over-riding virtue that the world needs which everyone is agreed on, I venture to guess peace would make it as number 1 on most people's list, whether it's for individuals, groups or nations. But what exactly is peace? To most it simply means no suffering or no war. Someone once said "Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it." Towards that end, humans devise all types of methods to "make" peace, as if it's something that one can manufacture and pour out of a bottle onto a hurting earth. We book holidays to some remote island somewhere in the hope of 'finding' peace, at least for a little while before we re-join the mad rat race in the concrete jungles of life. We sign up for all sorts of classes guaranteed to 'tune' us into the 'inner peace' that's touted as the ultimate fulfilment of living. Still nothing has succeeded in quelling the unease of human hearts over painful circumstances. Meanwhile government power-brokers sit at round-tables negotiating and signing off treaties committing to world peace. Yet if the statistics are correct, for the year 2012, 60 out of some 200 countries of the world are at war with each other. 

The Bible talks about peace a lot. Apparently the word 'peace' is mentioned 429 times in the King James version of the Bible (that's enuf to last more than a whole year in duration if it's spoken once each day). Interestingly, the very first greeting the angels brought at the birth of Jesus 2013 years ago was a declaration of "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests" (Luke 2:14). It's obvious God is interested in peace as much as we are, but He didn't write a "30 days to Peace" book. He didn't expound any nice theories about the psychology of peace. Nor did He devise any feel-good techniques to help us cope with the stresses and strains of living on this earth. He simply sent a Man whom the prophet foretold as the "Prince of Peace". 

Jesus declared, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27) What a strange gift. He talks about a peace that is not of this world. What other kind of peace is there? American and Trappist monk Thomas Merton knows “We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God”. Echoes of this from Ralph Waldo Trine who says “To be at one with God is to be at peace ... ” And finally C.S.Lewis puts his finger on the pie with this conclusion: "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing" This is the peace of God, which differs from the so-called peace the world understands it to be. Man's idea of peace depends on circumstances.No suffering, no war, no conflict equals peace.

But Jesus tells us point blank "In this world you will have trouble"...the ultimate trouble being the inescapable fact that the human body will grow old, get sick and then die. What a depressing thought. What's the point of all our striving and contending for a 'better' life on earth, if it's all gonna end up in the grave anyway? Or equally depressing (to me at least) is the view that humans need to go thru dunno how many other life-times of suffering to be 'purified' and finally disappear into the 'blessedness' of being nothing. But what's so blessed about being 'nothing'?? God started with nothing and created all things to be. I want me, my life to mean something, and not be reduced to zilch. Nothingness won't bring me peace.

When I attended the funeral wake of that dear brother, I found myself seated next to a lady who disclosed that she had watched 3 family members - husband, and 2 brothers - die. Man, and I thought I had it bad! Yet her eyes shone with a light that spoke of a calm and settled heart. We immediately connected because I recognized she and I had found the same thing in facing the death of loved ones...Not resignation or despair , on the contrary, peace and hope. The same thing that my husband spoke of as he was dying when Pastor asked him why he suddenly wanted to become a Christian, whereas he had objected so strongly before. He simply said, "because now I know.... now I know peace". He had made right with God by acknowledging his need of a Savior, somehow recognizing in his spirit that there was only 1 way to do that - through Jesus Christ - and in return he had received God's assurance he was forgiven of all his sins. That had brought the needed peace to the heart, a confidence that takes every believer through the valley of the shadow of death and over into the sunshine of eternity, safe in the arms of Jesus.

Easter is coming round again. But it doesn't take Easter to remind me how blessed I am to have obtained the peace that goes beyond human understanding. Yet to the logical mind, it seems ludicrous really...How can a guy hanging on a cross, bleeding to death, claim to be able to reconcile man to man and man to God? How can the death of 1 Man bring peace to the world of men? Because peace has a price, and Jesus paid it at the cross. From out of that suffering flowed reconciliation, His blood opening up the way back for sinful man to approach holy God. From out of death, He arose alive, proof and promise of a much much better life in eternity to come. 

That's the real peace which is forever. We can fake it, but we can't 'make' it . Only Jesus can, as Apostle Paul said it, "For He Himself is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14) We won't fnd peace secluded in even the most beautiful place on earth. We won't find peace living out a philosophy or religion. We won't find peace feeling, doing or being good. We won't find peace no matter how many accords are signed in its name. Sure, we can have (momentary) peace of the world. But that's not IT. It's like saying I can have a good life without Jesus, sure everyone can; indeed it can even be a very 'good' life. But I can't have THE BEST life without Him.There is a difference. I, for one, definitely don't wanna miss out on that, after all, I have lived the past 12 years experiencing the truth of His promise and my Prince of Peace has never failed me. 



"For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" ....Isaiah 9:6