International Day of Peace

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John 14 ₁₅"If you love me, you will obey what I command. ₁₆And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- ₁₇the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ₁₈I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ₁₉Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ₂₀On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ₂₁Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Today is International Day of Peace so I set out to find a verse that helps us put our own hearts at peace. While looking through a couple of verses I found this text which really caught my attention. Shortly before the text begins, it's Maundy Thursday and Judas has already left and Peter has just been told that he would not be following Jesus to His death. It's easy to understand that the disciples were feeling distraught and troubled. But instead of rebuking His disciples for their disloyalty and fear they were experiencing He instead in perfect knowledge gives comfort to them.

Jesus shares that His Father has a place and a plan for them. But the disciples are not satisfied with this explanation and instead seek explanation from God the Father. Jesus then reveals His place in the Trinity which once again has surpassed human understanding. Jesus tells them that He is in the Father and that the Father is in Him. In fact Jesus sort of disciplines them in the fact that they should and do already know this. This is why they follow Him, this is why they have witnessed miracles, because He Himself is God and has God in Him.

Then our text begins, and furthermore Jesus reveals the third part of the Trinity, The Holy Spirit. That The Holy Spirit will fill them with their understanding and reveal God's plan to them. But He goes a step further, not only will The Holy Spirit guide them, but that He will be in their hearts, and because of this God the Father will be in their hearts and because of this Jesus will be in their hearts.

The verse I chose to share for International Day of Peace was John 14:27, "27Peace 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." This verse is actually kind of that nail in the coffin moment that shows that Jesus had not come to do what the Jews of the time expected of Him. He was not here to be an earthly king that restored the Kingdom of Israel to the Jews, their enemies, at that moment, the Romans, were not going to be wiped out or become subservient. In fact, Jesus kind of promises the opposite of world peace.

The peace that the world gives us is not very peaceful is it? Just turn on the news to hear about the peaceful world. The sad fact is that the world will never have peace. Through the end of the ages, The Bible promises wars and rumors of war. That these are the birthing pains of Christ's return. Wars and rumors of war, does that sound familiar to you? What a strange thing to take away peace from, knowing that these things are happening so that you may go home to be with your Father in Heaven.

World peace is different from Christian peace in every way. In fact the world does not come off as a very good thing in scripture. When it comes to sin, the temptations come from the devil, the flesh, meaning yourself and the world, meaning everything around you. The world seeks to serve itself. Christians however seek to serve God. A man named Judas after our text ends asks Jesus, why would You show Your faithful disciples the way, wouldn't humanity be better served if instead You put Your Will into their hearts and minds first? Now Judas was a bit misguided by what Jesus was saying and Jesus corrects him. Jesus tells him, no, anyone who believes in My Father will have His ways known to them.

It's a unique advantage the Christian has in that we can look at the plea for world peace and say to our neighbor, don't worry, it's been taken care of. We are comforted in the face of danger and disaster knowing that Jesus has taken care of the future for us. We need not feel strife because we are at comfort and frankly happy that we have a home waiting for us.

What's even more comforting is the picture Jesus paints for us. First He starts by revealing His place in the Trinity with the Father. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. What's more is that there is another, a great Counselor given to us by the Father, who is the Truth of the Father and because He is the Father's Truth, through Him, Jesus will be with us. And if the Spirit is in us, then in us also is the Father and the Son. Now make no mistake, I am not saying that we have become God through faith in Christ, but this is what makes us holy in God's sight. When God looks in the Christians heart He sees the Son. Because the Holy Spirit is in our hearts we know God's plan. Because we have Jesus with us, we experience His peace.

We pray for an end to conflict and oppression across the globe, so often brought on by sin. We pray that our service men and women, can quickly, safely and effectively finish their missions. We pray that God's Word finds its way to the darkest corners of the Earth to serve as a guiding light. There will be wars and rumors of war, but even if these events touch our lives or our brothers and sisters lives across the globe, we can be at peace knowing that true eternal peace is on its way.