General News
8 June, 2025
In good faith
Someone (with far too much time on his hands) once worked out that in the 3500 years since Tutankhamun reigned in Egypt, there have been fewer than 300 years of actual peace.
Imagine that: less than one year in 10 without a war being fought somewhere.
The world is not a peaceful place.
For yourself, you may hear that all you need for peace and security is more money, or to look better, or to lose weight, or to be a ‘good’ person (whatever that means).
These things might be good but like the world itself they’re temporary
Think of King Tut again.
Mighty though he was, all that remains of his achievements is his tomb – a monument to the mortality of earthly pursuits.
In the midst of worldly upheaval, we hear Jesus’ words: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you" (Jn. 14:27).
If you seek peace, then it’s time to stop looking at the world and start looking to our heavenly Father and His Son.
Jesus said "I do not give to you as the world gives" (Jn. 14:27).
The peace He gives is an otherworldly peace, so it’s pointless to compare Jesus’ peace to any sort of peace we make for ourselves.
We know there is little peace in the world and lots of strife and danger.
We experience that every day.
But Jesus does bring peace – true, lasting peace, even among worldly strife.
Jesus makes peace by taking away the one thing that destroyed our peace before God: sin.
In Christ, we are forgiven.
This is where true peace begins – with a right relationship with God found only in Jesus.
The peace of Christ transforms our whole lives.
We can be content with what God has given us because we know He has already given us everything.
We can face death unafraid because we know where we are going.
Even our relationships with others are transformed as we live out the peace of Christ in our souls.
Jesus doesn’t promise that earthly trouble will go away simply because we believe in Him.
But He does promise us underlying peace – a transforming peace that enlightens and enlivens even in times of strife.
Despite what may happen, we know that in Christ we have a God of love who is all too ready to forgive, who promises to love and care for all His children.
That’s the kind of God we have – a God not of conflict but of harmony, a God of love, a God who wants nothing more than to give us peace.
Contributed by LUCAS MATUSCHKA