I have heard John 20:19-29 about 10 times over the past week. I realize it is an Easter passage, but it is EVERYWHERE! And I think that is because God wants me to pay attention it to. There are two things I need to pay attention to in this passage. The first is the words spoken by Jesus. "Peace be with you." Peace and Graduating senior really do not go together. Peace is something I sorta remember from sophomore year, not this year! But....I'm pretty sure the disciples were a little more stressed out than I am. I'm not exactly on the run or fearing for my life or anything. My world is being rocked right now, but their world had shattered, it was in pieces. Jesus knew that and the very first thing he said to them was "Peace". The disciples were scared...on top of everything else going on outside that locked door, Jesus had just APPEARED out of nowhere...a man they believed to be dead was now standing there. The word 'scared' probably isn't intense enough to describe how they felt in that moment.
If the disciples can have peace in that moment, shouldn't I be able to do the same? Last night at SHINE our speaker talked about having peace. Don't judge me for this...but I realized I fight peace. How stupid is that? But here is why. To have peace means I have to surrender what is going on. I like having control and worrying provides a weird control. Isn't that such a backwards way of thinking? I want peace, I crave it, and when I finally embrace it, I love it! Its like sunshine washing over me. But I fight it for so long. Jesus said "Peace be with you" to his disciples and he is saying it to me too! Life is so much better when I embrace Christ's peace, allow it to fill me up and let me wash over me.
The second thing I need to pay attention to is Thomas. Poor Thomas. He gets a bad rep. We criticize Thomas for not believing until he saw. But how often do we doubt? Thomas didn't know the story. There was no perspective there, no hindsight. We have the whole story. I know Christ rose. I read in the bible that he will provide, bring peace, and guide his people. I've seen it in my own life and in the lives of people around me. Christ is with us, Christ's peace is there. But I doubt. I don't believe. I question. Thomas was hurt and sacred. He was reluctant to trust. But once he saw, he believed. We see and yet are still reluctant to trust.
Last night our speaker said something I really liked. She said "Christ peace + Christ power = our purpose." I love that. The peace is there. All I have to do is pay attention to it. It doesn't mean that things suddenly get easier. Things are still crazy and hard. But there is peace.
Yes. Indeed. Peace.
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