The World's Peace and God's True Peace--by Linden Malki

"Peace" at its best is a gift of God.  Unfortunately, there are many people in today's world that believe that peace is for wimps, that it is impossible, it would be boring, that there are too many people out there that are out for whatever they think they are "owed".  In fact, the attitude of entitlement is one of the least peaceful ways to live.  Ironically, often those who think that they deserve everything they think they want,  put out the least effort and expect the most from everyone else. 

Historically, peace is less common than war, ambition, revenge,  greed, the idea that we know better than anybody how the world should be run.  Often what looks like "peace" is enforced by those who have subjected everybody under their control to submission, with people living in unexpressed fear or barely repressed anger.  Those in power usually think that they are answerable to no one, or in some cases, serving a false god. 

The God we serve offers Peace--but not always what we expect. Jesus taught about peace, when He was living in a culture that was under the power of the greatest empire of its day, and a local religious and political establishment  who were  on a tightrope between the power of Rome and their own ambition.  He wanted us to understand that the world's idea of "peace" was not God's plan, because it so often was just a layer of talk over a reality of political power.

Included in His final words to His disciples was " 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."  (John 14:27)  This is our calling: to learn from Him what real Peace is; that we learn from Him how to look at life from His point of view and be willing to put aside whatever does not match His teachings and His values.