Peacemaker
“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.” Ephesians 2:14 NLT
Our world is in great need of PEACE.
It is “Shalom” in Hebrew. It means nothing is missing and nothing is broken. Other words that describe Shalom are wholeness, soundness, vital and prosperous. This is the reality Jesus came to give us. A life overflowing with PEACE.
Yet so much of our hearts and our world are full of the opposite. Fighting in the home, hearts ruined by guilt and shame, wars between countries, murder in the name of religion. It’s heartbreaking, and truly tragic, to see how our world is so full of discord, anger and hate.
This week I read the account of Noah in Genesis 6. God regretted making man because of the overflowing filth of his collective sin, wickedness and chaos. He decided to start over. In a violent flood, he wiped out mankind and preserved the family of one righteous man in order to begin anew. A terrible scenario, but God wanted peace and blessing. So He decided to give mankind a new beginning.
This is what God offers to us today through Jesus. A new beginning of PEACE. In our Scripture today we see Paul stating that Jesus isn’t just a peaceful Being, He is PEACE Himself. The New International Version reads, “He Himself is our Peace.” What an amazing reality! Christ, Himself, is our PEACE–All the peace we will ever want or need!
So why then is PEACE so illusive and rare in our hearts and homes and in the Body of Christ? I believe the key is in embracing His Lordship as King of all Kings, and King of our lives. We need His loving rule.
Jesus is the King of PEACE. He IS OUR PEACE. He came and made PEACE between us and God. He gives PEACE (John 14:27). He makes PEACE between us and those we love. And He can bring PEACE between us and our enemies.
In the simplest terms possible, Jesus is PEACE. If we want PEACE, we ask Him for it. We turn over our hearts and minds and let His rule take over our chaos. We stop striving. We learn to “Be still and know that He is God.” (Ps. 46:10). And PEACE starts to fill us from the inside out. Wholeness, soundness, rest and joy start to fill us. Shalom is released inside us from the Prince of PEACE.
In our Western, democratic culture, the image of a King is foreign to us. In other cultures of the world, the reality of one who rules and reigns over all as king is a daily reality. Spiritually speaking, we are not self-determining citizens of a heavenly democracy; we are subjects of a Great King.
But Jesus is a different sort of King. He is the King of AGAPE and the King of PEACE. His rule is benevolent, kind and generous. He delights to bless and provide for His subjects. He is worthy of our complete and total submission. I believe that this, my friends, is the path to PEACE. Complete and total submission to King Jesus.
As Jesus’ rule and reign fills the earth, then Isaiah’s prophecy in Is. 9:6-7 will become reality, “and of the increase of His government and His PEACE there will be no end.” This makes my heart soar. PEACE and Jesus’ benevolent rule filling the earth. What a joyful hope!
This is what heaven will be like. No more tears, sorrow, suffering or pain. Grieving and sighing will fade away. PEACE will fill all things and every heart. When Jesus establishes this New Heaven and New Earth, a reality of PEACE everywhere, His mission as Messiah will be complete. He will have presented to Himself a Bride without spot or wrinkle (or any worry of any kind), Ephesians 5. He will have a Bride full of PEACE.
Come Lord Jesus! Come Rule over us! We bow to Your Lordship! PEACEMAKER, have your way among us! You are our PEACEMAKER.