“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: …peace…” Galatians 5:22a

 

 “‘I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid.’”                                                                                                                                                   John 14:27

 

It's time for peace!

 

Don’t we love a person who can keep a cool head in the middle of a stressful situation? It’s great to have someone to look to that we know will settle things down with their calm demeanor and level-headed approach!

 

The peace that is being talked about it in Galatians 5 is that type of peace—the type that would keep a person centered regardless of the surrounding circumstances. This type of peace is exempt from the physical.

 

The word “peace” in both the above verses is translated from the same Greek word—Eirene. It’s definition includes this: “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is” (Strong’s Concordance) That’s a mouthful! BUT what a wonderful definition of the peace we are to have when we have a relationship with Christ.

 

To see this even clearer, the root word of Eirene is Eiro, which means “to join.” Our sense of peace comes from our joining with Christ! Our peace is founded in the assurance of our salvation—our joining with Christ, and because of that we have nothing to fear, and we are content with life. (That doesn’t mean we don’t strive or have desires for improvement—it just means we’re good where we’re at while we’re here…)

 

Jesus said, “I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does.” This peace that we have, that we are supposed to display to those around us, is a gift from Jesus, Himself. It’s HIS peace; He’s giving it to us; He doesn’t give like the world… it doesn’t depend on our circumstances, so it doesn’t come and go—it’s constant!

 

Here again, it is obvious that this “fruit section” called peace, is not something we can manufacture within our own strength. It is a direct result of our relationship with Jesus. It is produced due to the “new creature in Christ” DNA that is now in us. It’s another section of the “fruit of the Spirit” that says to those around us, “you might want to check out this thing called Christianity.” After all… we’re the people others will look to in a stressful situation, right?

 

Reminder: We are known by our fruits… (Matthew 7:16a)