World peace is everyone's goal, the dreams of celebrities, the focus of a world in conflict. The problem: Where are we looking? The wrong place it seems.
We all worry. I can say that with confidence. We all have anxieties, our troubles, ouir 'life-controlling problems'. Bad news seems to be the only news worth writing about or reporting. But if we search for the true Good News, then peace might seem a reachable goal. As Paul writes in Romans 5, "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God". Quoting Jerry Bridges, "Peace with God, then, is the foundation of peace within ourselves and peace with other people... We must pursue what makes for peace, both within and without, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, realizing that the fruit of peace is His fruit, not ours... It is His work to produce peace within you. Your responsibility is to come in prayer, asking for the peace and looking to Him for it".
Not only can we desire peace, we can have it! The rich promises of our Triune God are amazing, yet even better is that we can see the fruits of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives now. Bring your anxieties to God in prayer. He will work peace in you, personal peace which translates into peace with men.
How do we show the fruit of peace? By being a piece of fruit.
- How do you solve your worries? Do you bring them to God or do you fret over petty issues? Are you a sour lemon, forever complaining and putting others in a bad mood by your attitude and actions? Or a orange with a thick skin that humbly and trustfully casts your burdens on the Gardener?
- How do you treat your fellow believers? Is there conflict or do you resolve to live as members of Christ's body, together in fellowship for the glory of God? Are you an individual pot plant in the dark recesses of an abandoned shed? Or part of a tree grafted in Christ and growing together in the light of God's promises?
- How do you deal with conflict? Do you blame others or take the initiative to restore peace? Are you part of the passionfuit gossip vine quick to blame the root of the problem? Or are you the tomato plant working with your basil neighbours to repel evil insects and improve each other's growth?
- How does your attitude reflect the Spirit working in you? Are you a prickly thorn with little need for sustenance and constantly spiking others? Or a strawberry bringing smiles and spreading the Good News everyone should hear?
In difficult times (we don't live in a perfect world so they will arise), remember your God. He will guard and keep you, protect you from the diseases of this world, and comfort you in the shelter of His wings.
"How oft in grief, Hath He not brought thee relief,
Spreading His wings to overshade thee" (Hymn 60:4)
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