Peace I Leave With You

Peace I Leave With You

In John 14:27 Christ tells his disciples “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.”

What do we think of when we think of peace? Do we think of no more fighting? Do we think of weapons being laid down? Maybe we think of troubles being taken away. If you’re as old as I am, you may even think of hippies, dressed in bell bottoms, long flowing hair and flowers all around with no cares to worry them, peace symbol necklaces dangling from their necks and adorning their VW vans.

I’m not sure that any of these are descriptive of the peace that Christ was promising. In fact, in John 16:33 He told them that their peace was in Him, but that they would have trouble in this world. Their lives, from then on, proved this to be true. None of them had an easy life, and they were all persecuted and martyred for His sake. Certainly, none of them had what we would call a peaceful life. They not only saw, but were on the receiving end of hatred, torture, imprisonment and exile. If we follow the lives of His first disciples and many of those who followed them throughout the next 2000 years, at some point we come to the point of asking, “Where is the peace that He promised?”

Back a few verses before John 14:27, Christ is telling them that He is sending the Holy Spirit, who will teach them and remind them of all the things that He had told them. He is promising this peace through His Spirit and the knowledge of Him continually in their hearts. He was promising them a peace that surpasses any troubles or harm that may come their way, the realization that He can and would overcome all for them, that their suffering for Him would only end in peace with Him.

In Philippians 4:7 Paul writes, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Just as He did with His disciples, who went through many hardships and trials, we know that He also brings peace to those of us who trust in Him, in our times of trouble. Even if we don’t completely understand it.