by Pastor Rich Carlson         

Jesus is about ready to leave His disciples and return to His Father. His parting gift is peace. His parting counsel is, don’t be afraid. I have concluded that the realization of the latter is proportional to the presence of the former  

Peace is a gift from Jesus. It was one of His last gifts before His departure. My aha-moment for this morning occurred between the promise and its outcome.

"I do not give it to you as the world gives it," Jesus insisted. So my thoughts started wandering in the direction of "worldly peace." My at-this-point thoughts about world peace center around the lack of conflict and war, the resolution of injustices, and the goal of global harmony. This line of thought caused me to consider what different kind of peace Jesus might be offering, and I decided it must be an internal peace, as opposed to external peace.   

I can be against war and injustice and in favor of global harmony, but the odds of it happening are limited at best. Jesus, on the other hand, did not talk to me this morning about external peace for this world; He focused me on the gift of peace inside myself. With that, I can proceed with my desire to see a world without war, injustice, or disharmony. My own peace, however, will not come because the world attains peace. It will come because Jesus fills me with His peace.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. "God is Faithful" is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.