Peace be with you

What is perfect peace?  Is it attainable?  Is it real?

Some say that our nation is "at peace" if we are not engaged in war with any other nation.  In fact, an old Spiritual had people singing, "Gonna lay down my sword and shield (down by the riverside); Ain't gonna study war no more."  But disarmament isn't peace--in most cases, it is oppression.  An oppressed people are told to lay down their weapons and bow to the will of their conquerors, their oppressors.

Even if our nation is not at war, there are arguments and strife all over the place.  Lawsuits, threats, fistfights, hair pulling, name calling, gun violence, screaming--this is peace?  We are wounded people, and it doesn't take much to reopen the wound.  The Bible says, "They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 8:11)

Peace can only be found in Jesus.  "No Jesus, no peace.  Know Jesus, know peace."  Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.  The Bible says, "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:18).

When I was a teen, the youth in our church would sing this chorus: "I've got peace like a river."  Sure, it has a biblical basis, but what does it mean?  Close your eyes and picture a river--not on a map, but imagine yourself on the bank of a wide river.  What do you see?  How does it compare to peace?

Living Water

The water is ever moving.  It never empties out, never dries up.  As fast as the river flows, that is how fast the water is replenished.  It will hold up those who are buoyed at its surface, and it will cover those who sink in its depths. Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become a spring of living water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14).  Peace is assurance that God will provide.  When this day is done, another will follow.  You can fight the current, or swim upstream, but when you realize that Jesus is our peace, then you go wherever He takes you.  And if you get stuck, or leave the river and lie on the bank awhile, you can get back in the boat wherever you left off, and start going with the flow again.

The Source

When you gaze at a river, you can't help but wonder where all the water comes from.  It can be traced to a single source, a spring or fountain somewhere on higher ground.  Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37-38).  Peace finds its source somewhere outside of ourselves.  We cannot manufacture peace.  We can try meditation, we can try chanting monosyllabic "om's", but when we open our eyes again, the stressors are still there.  The only way to find lasting peace is to look to Jesus as the source.

The Delta

When a river ends, it is swallowed up by a larger body of water.  Streams empty into lakes, rivers empty into the sea.  That is its destination.  All the water that flows ends up moving toward something bigger than itself, something more vast and expansive that can be contained between two banks.  The Bible says, "They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9).  Peace eventually leads us to God.  The Prince of Peace wants to introduce us to the Father.  And when we follow God's path for us, we are changed.  Just as a river is changed into a sea, so we are changed.  The letter "Delta" in the Greek, when written as a capital letter, looks like a triangle.  In shorthand, it is a symbol for Change.  God's peace changes us.

The Bible says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of  God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7).  In many ways, a river cannot be fathomed.  Similarly, we can never fully understand the peace of God.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain