Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” ― Albert Einstein.
I recall listening to a fella who had suffered more than a few up close and personal rock-bottoms. He said that these days all he wanted “was to step out easy.” That struck me as a fine metaphor for being at peace. For there can be no viable stepping out easy without tangible inner peace. For those of us who have known plenty of war within, a longing for peace is not uncommon. The question is how and where to get this allusive but desirable state of being and doing in the world.
Just reach for it and step out easy.
I’ve spilled a fair bit of ink on this blog already about the core biblical teaching that we are each one of us created in the image of God. If that be the case, can it be that desire for peace and its attainment also sit firmly, and only, within this realm?
There was a Hebrew fella long ago called Gideon. He was experiencing his own rock bottom, in the form of the Israelites gets smashed to pieces—yet again—by one of their arch-enemies, the frequently smiting Midianites. Gideon gets an angelic visit, amid all this, with the highly improbable message. Apparently, he, a lowly member of a lowest Israelite clan, would be the one to save his people (Judges 6: 11-15). Full of fear and doubt, he receives two assurances from Yahweh (God), “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16), and “Peace be to you. Do not fear” (Judges 6:23). On the back of all this, before getting down to doing some serious smiting himself, Gideon builds a shrine to mark this truly remarkable turn of events and called it. “Jehovah-Shalom”, or “The Lord is Peace”.
“God is Peace,” “Peace be upon you,” “Don’t be afraid, I am with you.” These are not just ancient utterances for a little frightened Hebrew fella, way back when. Their depth and currency are for us modern fear-stricken folk as well.
The peace we receive must be shared!
The peace of God is always available, we just have to reach for it. Admittedly, this is likely to involve some serious game-changing on our behalf. A lot less smiting and a lot more stepping out easy for the other, every other, will probably need to be our ongoing modus operandi if we want to get serious about living easy in the peace game. “We belong to each other.” The peace we receive must be shared! After all, it gets freely shared with us by the living God, who is peace personified and very much in the business of sharing. The peace game is all about the sharing game. Pass it on or lose it, comrades.
The God of peace is as close as our next breath. Just reach for it and step out easy. God is with us and in us! “Peace be upon you,” “Don’t be afraid.” God’s got this!