The many and varied conflicts around the world had invited most of us to think about peace. It probably had become somewhat academic, as we are also preoccupied with issues of trauma, mental health, violence in all forms, and economic survival. All these matter to God. It is God’s desire for us to be well. As for Christ, one could say peace is part of our inheritance from Him. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
John 20:21 CEB
[21] Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.”
Peace Received and Bestowed
Isn’t it interesting to find that Alfred Nobel, the name behind the Nobel Peace Prize, was a Swedish inventor and armaments manufacturer? The Nobel Peace Prize, one of five prizes instituted by Nobel’s will, is globally respected as the world’s most prestigious (and sought after) prize. Wikipedia notes that since March 1901, the Prize is awarded to people who have done the most or best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promoting of Peace Congresses.
It isn’t surprising to find that there are sometimes arguments about the most worthy recipients. For me, the bigger issue is now discovering that the originator of the Peace Prize was involved with the manufacturing of weapons. Ironic, isn’t it? For, he, in whose name the Prize is bestowed, could be considered one whose livelihood depended on the absence of Peace.
Interesting
Self-Check
How do you feel about the Nobel Peace Prize? Does knowing about Alfred Nobel change how you feel towards this prestigious prize?
Application
When contrasted with the Gift of Peace the disciples received (and by extension, us) from Y’shua Jesus that fateful First Day, the Nobel Peace Prize is like a shiny bauble. It is definitely a great affirmation, but it can not actually bring peace to an individual or nation.
The disciples were recovering from witnessing a murder-execution. And suspecting they might be next on the list of the persecuted were hiding. Potential recipients of a Nobel Peace Prize, they were not. By Pax Romana standards, neither was Y’shua. Yet, it is Y’shua Who, with His very life, even today, offers everlasting peace. He doesn’t need demonstrations, peace rallies, or concords. He deals with the heart of the matter.
The Peace He offers starts within. It is holistic, ensuring the well-being of body, mind, and spirit. It keeps us going when all else would suggest that we can’t. It penetrates past locked doors, past fears, pain, and any impossible we face, to assure us that God is still in control, so all is well.
But Y’shua doesn’t stop at giving us peace. He also sends us forth to share that peace with the world. He sends us to assure the hurting, lost, lonely, broken, hungry, crying, sick, forsaken, forgotten, ignored, abused, and/or dying that God is real, that Y’shua lives, and lives for them. We share the peace that tells the world that whatever today holds, the resurrected Christ is with us, so it is well with our souls.
In return, we receive an eternal prize from One Who isn’t into armaments, that lasts beyond this lifetime.
Point to Ponder
Will we receive and bestow Christ’s peace today?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
