Fruits of the Spirit: Peace

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(ESV)

In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect peace.  In this pristine environment, they had direct communion with God.  However, after their sin of disobeying God’s one and only command not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we find Adam and Eve hiding from God as God approaches them in the Garden (Genesis 3:8).  Since this time, peace has been a rare commodity beginning with the murder of Abel by Cain (Genesis 4) and continuing throughout history.  (1)  While the twentieth century had a respite of peace after the Cold War, the events of 911 quickly placed the world at war with terrorism, not against any nation or nations but instead a war with an evil ideology.  (2)  While the United States and many other countries in the world are involved in this ideological war, we now face a nation sponsoring terrorism around the world working to obtain nuclear weapons of mass destruction.  (3) (4)  In addition, the insane regime of North Korea, a regime already in possession of nuclear weapons, continues to test missile technology with the purpose of delivering nuclear weapons against U.S. interests.  (5)  In Matthew 24:6, Jesus promised we would hear of wars and rumors of wars so current headlines of these rumors and wars should not surprise us.  Jesus also tells us in this scripture that this does not mean the end has come, at least not yet.   

While a fruit of disobedience brought sin into the world in the Garden of Eden, through Christ we can bear fruits of the Spirit and enjoy perfect peace with God for peace is not the absence of war of conflict, but a quiet strength in the middle of it.  Mark4:35-41 records the account of Jesus calming a violent storm with just His words.  Granted, Jesus is God so His words have great power but there is another lesson to learn from this account. 

After a tiring day of ministry, Jesus instructs His disciples to get in their boat and go to the other side of the lake (Mark4:35).  Jesus then falls asleep in the stern of the boat (Mark 4:38).  Granted Jesus was tired but the adrenaline of fear when facing a chaotic time like a dangerous storm can make us alert and unable to sleep.  The fact that Jesus could sleep during this great storm shows the fruit of peace in his heart.  Even in the secular world, people view a leader at peace during chaotic times as having a valuable leadership quality.  (6)  Glenn Llopis, writing for Forbes calls for leaders to have greater poise, agility, and patience to minimize the impact of uncertainty in today’s rapidly changing workplace.  (7)

Scripture refers to Jesus as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah9:6), but in what would appear a conflict, Jesus Himself declares that He did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34).  Luke 12:51 states it another way by saying Jesus came to bring division and not peace.  Does this mean the prince of peace is a fraud and devoid of the fruit of the spirit of peace?

The answer is no for we find clarification of this conflict when we contrast the purpose of Jesus first coming with the purpose of his second coming.  Jesus first coming offered humanity a choice.  Instead of certain death due to separation from God due to sin in our lives, people can now have eternal life with God (John 3:16-18).  This is the division spoken of in Luke 12:51 for everyone now has an opportunity of eternal life with God through belief in Jesus as savior (John3:16) or continuing to live in condemnation (John 3:18).  In other words, peace from the prince of peace is available to us all by believing in Jesus as savior (John 3:16) and confessing Him as Lord of our lives (Romans 10:9-10). 

If you would like to move from the side of condemnation to the side of saved, I encourage you to pray with me now,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

It is at the second coming of Jesus that world peace will come but only after a bloody war (Revelation 19:11-21, Revelation 20-21).  The greatest news is that those of us who have accepted Jesus as savior will live for eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ in this world void of wars and conflict.  Until then, Jesus death, burial, and resurrection gives us the opportunity to enjoy peace with God in our hearts and bear the fruit of peace in the middle of the storms of wars and conflicts happening in our world. 

1. Roser, Max. War and Peace. ourworldindata.org. [Online] Our World in Data, 2016. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] https://ourworldindata.org/war-and-peace/.

2. Brooks, David. War of Ideology. www.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, July 24, 2004. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/24/opinion/war-of-ideology.html.

3. Lee, Matthew. Iran still top state sponsor of terrorism, U.S. report says. www.pbs.org. [Online] PBS Newshour, July 19, 2017. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/iran-still-top-state-sponsor-terrorism-u-s-report-says/.

4. Weinthal, Benjamin. IRAN SEEKING NUCLEAR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY, GERMAN INTEL SAYS. www.jpost.com. [Online] The Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2017. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/German-intel-says-Iran-seeks-nuclear-weapons-technology-499113.

5. White, Stephen. "US should be tamed with fire": North Korea renews threats to launch missile attack on Guam. www.mirror.co.uk. [Online] Mirror, October 13, 2017. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/us-should-tamed-fire-north-11338615.

6. Fukuda, Marty. The True Measure of Leadership Is Staying Calm in the Storm. www.entrepreneur.com. [Online] Entrepreneur. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253116.

7. Llopis, Glenn. 7 Ways Leaders Maintain Their Composure in Difficult Times. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, January 20, 2014. [Cited: October 13, 2017.] https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/01/20/7-ways-leaders-maintain-their-composure-in-difficult-times/#5c1da5372157.