Peace Be With You

 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.  – James 4:8

On a Sunday evening, three days after Jesus’ disciples watched Him hang on a cross until dead by order of the government, they were gathered in a room, door bolted in fear. Just that morning Mary Magdalene told them she had talked with Jesus, alive again! Can you imagine the intensity of that conversation? They were pulling apart every detail of her stunning story when suddenly He was there. Jesus was standing in their midst. He did not rebuke them for their earlier poor behavior or admonish them for their fear. Instead, He arrived giving the standard Hebrew greeting exchanged between friends, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19).  

This time the greeting was completely different, it was not a courtesy, Jesus offered real peace to His disciples, and it is His to give. His sacrificial death and resurrection make God’s peace available to anyone through Christ. Not everyone receives this peace, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God“ (John 1:11-13).  

God’s peace is expressly given to His children, for those who are willing to receive it from the nail-scarred hands of His Son. Today, when you pray for peace in the world, you are praying for the world to receive Jesus. Do that right now! Ask that people will accept God’s plan for peace in their lives, both in this nation and around the world, looking to Jesus Christ for His great gift.