Jesus gives His peace to those who believe in Him and the sacrifice and salvation that God provided in Him. He offers not the peace that the world offers, but His peace, that brings us comfort in our trials and tribulations here on earth when the world says there should be none.
A Time to Be Silent
There must be a time when we cease speaking
to be fully present with ourselves.
There must be a time when we exclude clamor
by listening to nothing whatsoever.
There must be a time when we forgo our plans
as if we had no plans at all.
There must be a time when we abandon conceits
and tap into a deeper wisdom.
There must be a time when we stop striving
and find the peace within.
Amen.
David O. Rankin
Not only are we meant to be at peace with one another, but we are also meant to be at peace with God. This concept is talked about throughout the Bible, including in Leviticus as Moses outlines the peace offering for the Israelites. There were many similarities to the burnt offering and the grain offering, but unlike the first two of the "pleasing aroma" sacrifices, the peace offering (also referred to as a fellowship offering) was established by God as an act of celebration. And He wants us to celebrate together! The Israelites recognized their blessings came from God, and in turn, they wanted to honor Him. This offering wasn't made from obligation; it was given from a heart of genuine gratitude to God. This made it an even more of a "pleasing aroma" to God.
God is the Giver of all good things, and He gave us the most important gift when He allowed His Son to serve as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Christ's death on the cross not only frees us from the Levitical system of animal sacrifices but also gives true and everlasting peace that can only come from God.
As we are reconciled to God and at peace with Him, we are also called to strive for peace with one another. First5
Isaiah 45:5-7
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ The New King James Version
God creates light and separates the darkness. This assertion indicates that the darkness, too, was God’s creation—it was not just there to begin with. In the same way, God is described as creating both well-being and calamity. Faithlife Study Bible
No other person or object can compare to the holiness and power of our living Creator. He is sovereign over everything—both good and evil. The symbols of light and darkness (are clarified by the words peace and calamity. The NKJV Study Bible
There is no God beside Jehovah. There is nothing done without him. He makes peace, put here for all good. He is the Author of all that is true, holy, good, or happy; and evil, error, and misery, came into the world by his permission, through the wilful apostacy of his creatures, but are restrained and overruled to his righteous purpose. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Psalm 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.
Isaiah 31:2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity.
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