If one theme stands out
that people from all works of life talk about is having peace. That is, peace at
home, work, in their street, in the world and especially internal and mental peace[1].
It has been suggested that,
“Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace
for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.”[2]
A great place to review
the statistical evidence of world peace has been the Global Peace Index. Their
latest report has stated amongst other things that,
“the average level of global peacefulness improved very
slightly in the 2019 GPI.”[3]
This is great, but it has not been the norm through history.
So, why has peace been so hard to secure? Why do you or others
that you know find it so had to live in peace with others? Why do you struggle
to find internal peace? Questions like these and others are not new but have
been asked down throughout history.
In trying to answer
these questions, it could be asked where are we searching for peace. If history
bears out that, as people, we are unable to find peace, then maybe we have been
looking in the wrong places. In the gospel of Luke, we read that, at the birth
of Jesus Christ the angles declared,
“Glory to God in the highest
heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Lk 2:14
NLT).
The prophet Isaiah said
amongst other things that there would be one who would be the Prince of Peace, Is
9:6; see also Lk 2:8-14. There is a peace that is from
Christ that can full us and aid us to live in peace. Paul the apostle said,
“And let the
peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one
body, you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful” (Col 3:15
NLT).
But this peace can only be found in Christ. So, we need to come
to Him and ask for His strength for this to be a reality.
Pause
in His presence for a moment and think this over…
[1] “Mental health in
Australia: a quick guide.” https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1819/Quick_Guides/MentalHealth (9th
December 2017).
[2] Hedges, Chris. “What
Every Person Should Know About War” https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/books/chapters/what-every-person-should-know-about-war.html (9th
December 2019).
[3] “Global Peace
Index 2019.” http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2019/06/GPI-2019-web003.pdf (9th
December 2019).
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