Daily Light - May 6, 2011

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you."

John 14:27

Have you ever received a notice in the mail that said, "Congratulations, you have just won a free trip to the Bahamas!"? Do you remember how there was a bit of excitement in you even though you knew that it was probably a scam? You opened the envelope any way just to see and discovered that it was truly free if: you went alone, slept in a cardboard box outside a resort, and fasted for the entire week. We've all been there; there is always a catch.

This is why Jesus said that He does not give as the world gives. He gives to us simply because He loves us. The focus of His gift in this passage is of course His peace. There are many things that we learn about God from the Scriptures, and one of them is that His love is unconditional. However, do we realize that is not the only thing that is unconditional about God? His peace is also unconditional.

Maybe we have trouble grasping this idea of peace being unconditional, because we think of peace as an emotion or state of mind. Peace cannot be condensed to simply these things. If you read this passage carefully, you will notice that this not just any peace that we are given. Jesus said that He is giving us HIS peace. Whoa! Jesus has just essentially promised us Himself and with that His own thoughts and feelings. Does Jesus panic when there are more bills than we have money? Does Jesus stay up all night when the doctors give us news that we weren't expecting? When one of our loved ones strays from the truth, does Jesus fret about how things are going to turn out? The answer of course is no. This is the point where we realize that peace is not in our circumstances or how they end, but peace is knowing that through it all that Jesus is in control.

This kind of peace is unconditional, because Christ is not bound by conditions. He gives us peace through our greatest and most troubling times, because He is not fazed by our troubles. This great gift of peace is meant to be everlasting for the child of God. It is not a temporary commodity that will phase out at some point of our lives. Christ is eternal, therefore our peace is eternal. We can stand on the most difficult days of our lives and have the assurance that all is well in Him. This strength that we find in the peace of God is beyond our understanding and comprehension.

May you live in the peace of the Master of the wind today!