by Joan Gallagher
Contributing Writer
For He Himself is our peace. Ephesians 2:14 NIV
Let’s take a minute to rest in the thought of this verse. No really, close your eyes and for 1 minute just meditate slowly on those words:
For…He…Himself…is…our…peace
They are powerful words.
Maybe “powerful” isn’t what you think of when you think of peace, but in a world that is desperate for it, where even the earth groans for relief, the answer can be found in these six words.
Paul wrote these words to the believers in Ephesus. He didn’t say Jesus does or would bring peace (although that’s true that’s not the context of this verse). Paul says that Jesus IS peace. So why is Paul making this point about Jesus to the Ephesians?
At the time, the Jewish converts in Ephesus were separating themselves from the the Gentile converts. Paul wanted to show the importance of unity and peace among believers. The verses that follow fourteen were written to encourage the Jewish converts not to use God’s Word as a weapon against their Gentile Christian brothers.
In essence, Jesus came to show them they were no longer Jew and Gentile; a they are united under the one who is Peace: Jesus Christ. He came to break down the walls that divide us so we may be united in our relationships with each other. No longer does there need to be enmity between Jew and Gentile or between man and God (Ephesians 2:14-16 NIV)
Do you see the power of peace? The thing is, it’s our human nature to try and find peace through other ways than Jesus.
We long to have that cabin in the woods to get away and find peace. We come up with all sorts of methods to solve conflict and find peaceful solutions in our homes, schools, and our world. These things aren’t bad in and of themselves but if they aren’t wrapped in the power of the One who is peace it will, at some point, crumble away like the side of a mountain in an avalanche.
Let the message of Jesus, who himself is peace, flow through us and be sent out powerfully to the world. If the waves and wind know His name, then the power of His peace can change the ever meager and human attempts at peace that crumble beneath us.
Peace must start within us as He penetrates deep within our souls.
His peace is manifested as extravagant love, grace, selflessness, and mercy towards others. Peace pulsates stronger within us every time we refuse to judge someone else, and we lay aside our right to be heard so someone else may instead hear the revolutionary message of the one who is Peace.
For in the telling of His story, his birth, death, and resurrection we can send out the one power packed message that brings about true peace. It is so powerful we can experience it no matter where we are or what circumstances we find ourselves. It is intriguing to see how it infiltrates into every nook and cranny of the crumbling places of pseudo-peace and changes it into a rock-solid mountain top that we can stand upon victoriously. True peace will never falter or crumble because at it’s very DNA is Jesus Christ. The world aches for Peace to once again permeate every cell in existence.
As believers, we know how the story ends. It happens! Peace will supernaturally permeate every part of this world. The permeation has begun. At Christmas, we celebrate the beginnings of the shoring up of peace in this world. One day we will know the full power of Peace. Until then let us be a part of the call of God. As His loved ones may we not separate ourselves from one another in enmity but instead to join together with Peace as our guide and love as our purpose.
Lord, you are our only source of peace in this broken world. Forgive us for not being the agents of peace you call us to be. May your powerful peace, flow out of us into the world around us and then all the world and may your name be praised forever. Amen.
Joan Gallagher is the author of Hope-Markers currently for sale on Amazon. She is a contributing blogger at Sweet Jesus Ministries as well as for her own site, Women Mentoring Women. Joan writes and speaks based out of her home in Northeast Ohio. She lives there with her husband Ed of 32 years. Their favorite time is spent when they get their family together with sons Adam, Andy, and their daughter Meagan, son-in-law Zach and granddaughter Daisy. Joan is inspired by the rich stories that all of us have to tell of God’s amazing grace.
