"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
John 14:27
Part 2
Yesterday:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”
Jesus Christ gives us life-changing peace.
Today:
“Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.”
Nothing like Jesus’ peace exists in the world. He compares His gift of peace to the world’s gifts. He said that only in Him can we find peace, the world offers just the opposite.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The world’s best gifts are not satisfying. They are troubling; the world’s rewards are never eternal, but always temporary and fleeting. To the followers of Jesus, there is hostility from the world. It started with our Savior and flows down on His children. The world will never love us because it hated Him!
“Disentanglement from the world. We must stand clear of the ambitions of the world, of its fear and favor, of its craving for wealth and fear of poverty. The world must have no charms for us”[1] (Meyer).
Why? Because we worship and serve the Prince of Peace!
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
We are not to be cowardly but stand in the face of trouble because we have His peace.
“‘My’ peace, again, is the peace which Jesus Himself enjoys, as well as that which He alone can give: this peace becomes the true possession of the receiver.”[2]
Believers, holding Jesus’ peace, our hearts need never see anxiety (from within us); and we need never fear what comes our way (from outside of us). He is here with us, and we are peaceful in Him.
Quote: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
[1] F.B. Meyer. Through the Bible Day by Day, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Popular New Testament, A Popular Commentary on the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.