Peace of Christ

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give

you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and

do not be afraid."

            - John 14:27

  

 

Peace is so close to love.  It is an inner space, a quiet, fluid place, like a tranquil lake in the early morning.  It is still, perfectly still, yet so alive.  It is the breath of divinity entering and living in your soul.  It is a state of mind, of being.  It is Heaven and it is grace.  That's all.  And, yet, it is everything - the entire universe in a single breath. 
 

Peace is a miracle.  We cannot give it to ourselves.  The best we can do is invite it, wait for it, prepare for it as we prepare for a guest, set the table, prepare the wine and food, and open our hearts. We can pray for it and hope for it. 

When peace comes, we will know it is the presence of divinity in our human lives. It is the magic of the universe in our presence and nothing else matters - not then, nor ever. And, suddenly, we are awakened to something so much more wonderful than anything we'd known before and so grateful for the presence that reaches into us and draws us closer to ourselves, igniting a love beyond this place and time.

Peace comes with the message that we are loved beyond our wildest imagination and that we cannot earn it nor chase it away. We need not worry so much, or strive so much.  Sadly, we measure ourselves by perishable standards and miss it all while we are pursuing the world's so very temporary values.

 

When we honor ourselves and each other, the earth and all of life, when we stand in the midst of life, honoring it all, cherishing the air we breathe, we are on the threshold of grasping a scent of that great peace that only the divine can give us . . . and the world can't. 

It is the whole reason for being alive - to experience the perfect peace of God and feel God's love, unlike any other love we could know.