Peace

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

You’ve seen them–the letters cut out of wood or plastic, or perhaps crocheted on a towel, printed on card stock, or otherwise decorating our homes. They are one word messages–love, joy, peace. Who doesn’t want those things? We long for our lives to be characterized by loving relationships with family and friends. Amid all of the discouragements of daily life, we search for joy in places healthy and not. And peace, perhaps the most elusive of all, is on everyone’s list. You likely have times, as I do, when you long for the clamor of life to cease. Times when silence is more than golden, it is your very oxygen. Times to rest from striving.

In Paul’s systematic explanation of the wonders of the Gospel in the book of Romans, we come to this critical statement at the beginning of chapter 5. We have peace with God! Or, we can have peace with God when we are justified by faith. It is here that we learn something literally life-changing–all of our strivings, our fightings, our restlessness, our wrangling with life is rooted in the disjointedness of our relationship with God. You see, He created us for relationship with Him, and when that connection is not healthy, all other areas of life are affected. Our marriages, our friendships, our connection to our children, siblings, parents, co-workers, neighbors can all be compromised when we don’t care for our relationship with God.

Can I present you with a challenge? If you are struggling with an absence of peace in your life, examine your relationship with God. Peace with God always leads to the peace of God.

-Pastor Mike