A World of Peace must have the Grace of God

As we all know peace is not an environment without guns and treacherous activities. The very peace that Jesus implied to his disciples after his Resurrection was not the absence of national or local upheaval; it was the inner-man with an understanding of a soul living with the persona of God indwelling in him.

To find that type of inner-peace each person must allow the grace of Christ to enter his being through the faith he must acquire. To find that faith we must learn and hold on to a relevance of what Jesus taught us through his Incarnation as a man and to share his very passion throughout our life. It isn’t a textbook assignment that will be the answer but an experiential existence that must endure the same suffering, rejection, and ignominy that Jesus had to go through. Some may balk at the idea of living as a weak willed person and not fighting back at the first sign of bullies. However, when Christ took on humanity he already knew what to expect since he created us by being a forgiving God because of his great love for each one.

When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection he said, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit, Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (Jn 20: 19 - 23). It is here where the grace from the Lord will stand as truth and through our faith will receive the grace he promises to us.

While we adjust to the fact that peace as we would like it to be there still is the probability that another World War could become a reality with Russia still bombing Ukraine and N. Korea is sending troops to assist Russia’s needs. The other nations that still are possibly partners in an upheaval are China and Iran. None of the mentioned nations are concerned with any type of peace from world domination, and none of them can understand the peace that Christ was referring to.

What we must do as Christians and people who want to promote the peace Jesus talked about must continue to advocate an understanding of freedom from anarchy and tyranny. These both will surely continue to place a depressive atmosphere in the people who want peace at all costs and are finding a repulsive attraction on peace-loving citizens. But as we attempt to avoid these cultural mishaps we cannot forget that the real peace is in loving God and reaching out to our brothers and sisters who also want that peace that we have been given to spread to others through Christ.

Ralph B. Hathaway