What makes potential separation easier? A gift to remember them by.
- A child goes off to college and takes a framed family picture to put by their bed.
- An elderly grandmother gives her grandchildren a handmade quilt.
- A spouse travels for business, and a special note is slipped into their suitcase.
- A kiss and a hug, and we’re on our way.
Jesus has been making it clear that he was leaving. The disciples still didn’t understand how, when, or why, but they felt the weight of the possibility. How would they remember what he’d taught them? How would they carry on? Wouldn’t they face the same opposition as their master?
As we near the end of this that began with comfort, we find that it will end the same way:
All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:25-27 (NIV)
First, he tells them again. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you a pop quiz on all I’ve said. (Well, that’s my paraphrase). I’ve got you covered. The Father will send the Holy Spirit, just as he sent me, and he will remind you of all I’ve said and taught.
I’m sure they found comfort in that. I still find comfort in it today.
Secondly, he says he’s got a parting gift for them:
PEACE.
No, it’s not the store-bought, worldly variety that tarnishes easily and breaks; this is my peace…it’s part of me that will remain with you.
They didn’t realize it then, but it was also as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to come. When the Spirit enters our lives, he brings the peace of Christ. That’s the peace that keeps our hearts from being troubled when everything around us is troubled. That’s the peace that keeps us from fear, when everyone around us is afraid.
Remember, what we have, what he’s left us, is the gift of His peace, otherwise known as His presence.
Do you remember a time as a child when you were afraid of a storm or crying over a hurt knee? Your mother or father wrapped their arms around you and pulled you into their lap. The enveloping of their presence filled you with what? Peace.
The peace we have in Christ, the peace he was leaving with his disciples, is the peace that so fills us that we have protection from all harm. It doesn’t mean we won’t suffer, or fall, or face trials or persecution, but it does mean that we’re safe in his care, enveloped by his Spirit for all eternity.
In this verse, Jesus fulfills what the angels proclaimed thirty-three years earlier to a group of shepherds:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.
Luke 2:14
The disciples would be the first to know the favor of God, because they were the first to be given his peace.
Are you one of the favored ones? Know Christ — Know Peace.
Grace and Peace
All The Colors In The World by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.