From ancient times until our time, the hearts of men have longed for peace. This peace includes peace from war and peace of mind, heart, and soul. Israel of old would pray. “Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:26).
If you were to travel through the middle and near east, everywhere, you would hear the words “Salaam Aleikum.” The English translation would be “Peace be unto thee.”
I wonder, what did Jesus say about peace? To his disciples then and in all ages, He said, “Peace I leave with you” (John 16:33). The peace that brings calm to the soul and through each individual, and to the world is found only in Christ, who is the Prince of peace. Peace, true peace can be found nowhere else. We drive ourselves insane, searching that which can only be found in Christ. For it is only through Jesus who brings an end to the discords of life, that we find peace.
Wherever there is sin, and trust me when I say at all times, we are not far away from evil. We learn by experience that disobedience of God’s law leaves us without peace. We feel like we are being tossed about on a troubled sea. According to Isaiah, the prophet, “there are many plans for peace, but they all fail” (Isaiah 57:20, 21). High-minded, self-sacrificing men and women have worked for world peace and spent millions of dollars seeking it, yet they have not achieved it.
Shortly after World War I ended, the American editor Edward Bok offered a $100,000 prize for a plan to ensure universal peace. Twenty-Two thousand plans were submitted in the contest. As you can imagine, judges debated long and hard over several. Yet some they swiftly passed by because they were too short and the most sensible plans in some cases. The shorted one they passed over contained just two words, “Try Jesus.” The judges passed over it, but why shouldn’t we try Jesus? It is really the only plan that will work. Yet, we continue trying to cure our ills and the worlds with remedies that have failed a thousand times in the past.
While secretary of state for the United States, Charles Evans Hughes said that peace seems to be merely the lull between inevitable storms. Another described it as an “ideal lost in inaccessible distances.” Certainly, Clausewitz’s verdict is that peace is at best but a truce on the battlefield of time. In one of his letters to Voltaire, Fredrick the Great declared that as he ran over history pages, he noticed that ten years never seemed to pass without a war somewhere. It is the intermittent fever that might have moments of respite but would never cease.
From a human standpoint, he was right. But from God’s viewpoint, he is wrong. War will cease. God’s Word tells us so. Christ will come, then war will cease, and cease forever. He will bring the peace that men for millennials have strived for and dreamed.
Isaiah, the prophet in the book that bears his name, states in chapter 35, verse seven, “The parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water.” The American Standard Version of the same passage states it beautifully when it says: “The mirage shall become a pool.” In other words, the dream of peace will finally become a reality.
Let’s close with these words written by the disciple Peter in II Peter 3:13. “The new heavens and the new earth will be a place wherein dwells righteousness.” This will only happen when Christ sits on His throne. Then humankind will finally know world peace and peace within their hearts.
The Bible In Your Hand 