As I was working on my newsletter for my partners, these words came to mind... Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. - John 14:27 As I continued working on my newsletter, I realized that I had a lot more to share on this subject than the space had to offer, so here we are. This blog has become the victim of my swirling, possibly mis-jointed thoughts on this subject of peace and I happy for that ( I don't even care how ironic that last sentence was). Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. These are the words of our Lord to his disciples when He comes to them raised from the dead. These are the words that he has for each of us. These are words that come as a promise to us at this particular time. In my own heart, I know that this is a promise extended to me, that I have a need to receive, but it is not just for me and I know that in a particular way as I see students on campus preparing for finals, and closing up the school year. Maybe you need this promise right now too. If there’s one thing that’s obvious on this college campus, it’s that this, real peace, is not what the world has to offer. They say, “buck up, be successful, study hard, question everything, never trust, get the good grade, live “the experience”, keep busy, don’t stop, what's next, what's next, what's next, noise, noise, noise. One of my teammates put it very well the other day after her conversation with a Philosophy student on campus, “It’s like they take your heart and all of your emotions and beliefs, everything you thought you knew, put it in a blender and just grind it all up and serve it to you: education”. Ouch. How do you even recover from that? When I was on campus today I ran into a girl who was in my bible study last year. Toward the end of our conversation I spoke about my desire to make time for peace and quiet, to reflect over the year, recall God’s hand in this work and His mighty deed that he has done this year. She expressed how she desired that peace so much. We prayed right then each of us for each other for this peace: the peace that God has for us. I’m beginning to hear a gentle tap- tap- tapping at the door of my heart in these conversations, a gentle nudge, a little reminder, especially in this busy time of the year on campus that God is so much more than just doing and he wants so much more for us than to be doing all the time…accomplishing all the time… acting all the time…busy all the time… “Busy” is a glorified state of being that has somehow become the standard and even an ideal, especially in the lives of people I meet on this campus. Ew. That’s like saying, “I’m a human-doing” instead of a human being. I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I want! We have machines and stuff to do that. In my prayer time I was reflecting on the classic verse in Corinthians. You know the one... If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Basically, I can do- do- do- do- do, but if there is no love??? NOTHING. I don't want to be nothing...darkness. If God is love and Jesus is God and Jesus says “peace I leave you” and not only that but we call Jesus the “Prince of Peace”, then it would make sense that where there is LOVE there is PEACE. There is something, light, joy, PEACE. Love and peace. They just go together. They just do. I think those people in the 70's had something right. It makes sense in my mind. Take it or leave it when it comes to my thoughts, but when it comes to the gift of God that He offers us in Jesus, I dare you to take it. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
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This Blog...I'm Emily: a mission leader with Saint Paul's Outreach. This is blog is here to keep you up to date with what is happening in the mission field at Ohio State! Archives
October 2016
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