Peace is a word used by many in a variety of contexts. Peace can be referred to as a time of calm and rest or to the truce called between warring countries or arguing friends. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “the state of being calm or quiet.”
Biblical peace is more than this, it means to be complete or whole and it also points to the presence of something else. The Hebrew word shalom is translated as peace, meaning completeness, soundness, and welfare. It comes from the root word shalam (shaw-lame’), which means making amends or making whole or complete. God’s peace is different from the world’s peace. God’s peace is a state of
wholeness and completeness. It is not created by ourselves, it is a fruit of the Spirit and God is the source.
Jesus is the Prince of peace and he gives us peace with God, with others and with ourselves. At his death Jesus provided us with a path to restore our relationship with God so that we can be joined to and fellowship with him. In Jesus, we are able to live in peace with others and to be peacemakers. Jesus is our inner peace, he makes us whole and complete. The peace that God gives us is an
inner peace, a promise of his love, his guidance in our life and most of all, a promise of his presence.
Throughout Scripture we are told of the Lord’s peace, how he gives us peace, how we are to live in peace. In today’s times, we are desperate for peace amongst people of different faith and race. We long for peace in war-torn countries. We ask for peace in our homes and work places. We want to have that white flag of peace hanging outside our houses, to see it flapping in the wind.
May we strive for God’s peace and not the world’s.
