“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 4:27
Jesus brings peace but not the sort of peace you get from anywhere else. The world gives a peace that is based on a general sense of wellbeing. We often equate peace with having enough money to pay the bills, not having enemies and being safe from attacks. Whilst no one would dispute these as perfectly normal and good aspirations – these things in and of themselves can only ever provide us with an illusion of peace. Financial security, health and personal relationships are subject to so many factors and many of us have known our peace to be shattered by the events of real life.
The peace that Jesus gives is one that is not affected by the events of life. It is a peace that finds its origin not in the things that we see or can hold but in those things that will last forever. The peace Jesus gives finds its origin in Him, it is one that transcends both time and space and reminds us that the things of this world are only temporary.
Jesus spoke these words while talking about heaven and our eternal home with Him. A view of life that looks past the temporary to those things that will last forever places everything into context and lifts our eyes upwards. Our security and peace is no longer found in the temporal world we see around us but in the unchanging, ever-present love and grace of God found in the person of Jesus Christ.