Other World Peace

Ever wonder where true peace comes from?  Our world prays for peace. Bumper stickers proclaim its virtue and politicians peddle it like wild west snake oil.  Yet with each passing day on this earth it seems man moves farther and farther away from peace.  

I am not talking about peace in the sense of no war.  That is simply a time where people are not killing other people.  The peace I want to discuss is a peace within the soul of an individual that affects every aspect of that person’s life.  A peace that comes from a seemingly hidden reservoir and is present whatever the circumstances faced.  The Bible says such is the “Peace of God” and it instructs us to obtain this peace through prayer with thanksgiving.  

The Bible further describes this peace as one that “surpasses all understanding”.  In this reference we have the absolutely inclusive word of “all”.  It is included as a qualifier with specificity and purpose.  It qualifies the level of understanding to be surpassed.  All understanding is surpassed - understanding of any kind, derived from any resource and applied from any perspective, regardless of time or capacity, whatever the level of learning, status acquired or experience of the one attempting to understand.  

There is no way to understand the peace referenced in this scripture.  Yet this peace is available to a person through simply being thankful in prayer to God.  So we can have a peace that exceeds any available understanding by communing with God in an attitude of thanksgiving.  I feel like somebody should tell somebody about this.  

The scripture goes on to say that this peace will be active to “guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Why would our hearts and minds need guarding?  Well, the World Heart Federation may have an idea.  According to their website 17.3 million people worldwide die every year from cardiovascular disease (http://www.world-heart-federation.org/cardiovascular-health/global-facts-map/). That does not even take into consideration the millions that are on some kind of medication for heart illness.  What about the mind - a June 2013 entry on Humanosphere.org states that “More than 450 million people are estimated to suffer from some form of mental illness.” (http://www.humanosphere.org/global-health/2013/06/visualize-mental-illness/)  Of course it’s practically impossible to get an absolutely accurate accounting on the real numbers when dealing with worldwide mental illness.  However, even if just 10% of the number presented by Humanosphere were accurate that would still be almost 50 million people.  A lot.

So heart and mind are obviously two members of our bodies that are under attack and a little guarding would not be a bad idea.   But another question must be raised at this point.  How does peace guard hearts and minds?  The Bible points out that it is not just any peace that guards us.  It is the peace of God, and as made clear earlier in this post it is not understandable.  That of course would include how it operates.  You can see a hummingbird fly but have no idea that its flight is different from all other birds nor be able to explain how it flies.  Likewise, a peace that is beyond understanding has recognizable results with no understanding of how those results are accomplished.  

The bottom line is that if you have this peace you have something that transcends human knowledge and effectively keeps your heart and mind from the evil devices created to destroy them.  Devices designed by both man and spirit with all intent of giving you ulcers, heart attacks and driving you crazy.  

Sorry, I got to go.  I suddenly have an uncontrollable urge to get me some tie-dye and demonstrate in front of the capitol!

Philippians 4:7