As we read John chapter 14, Jesus has eaten the Passover with his disciples.  He has washed their feet, giving them a lesson in humility and service.  He told them the badge of discipleship is their love for one another.  Then he tells them, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." (John 14:27)

This was Christ's last will and testament, it was His only legacy.  Being the poorest of the poor, He had nowhere to lay his head.  He had nothing else to leave.  He had no material possessions to divide among the men He loved. There were no stocks, no bonds, no land, no cattle.  Jesus left to them the one thing which was in his power to give.  He gave his peace.

    When you think about it, could he possibly have given them a more priceless possession than that?  Anytime the people of God assemble, there are some who are needing more than anything else to learn the secret of true serenity.  Every Lord's Day, in pews all over this land, there are hearts breaking because they lack this very thing Jesus is so eager to give.

     Part of the blame for the shortage of serenity which is characteristic of life in the 21st century must be laid at the door of this age in which we are living.  With the constant assaults on religion and traditional values by the secular progressives our world is not a tranquil world.  It comes then as no surprise that more people than ever before are high string, nervously irritable and lacking in repose.  The general insecurity of the present days registers not only politically and economically, the toll it takes emotionally and mentally is no less serious.  People today are carrying many burdens, heavy burdens.  Can peace come easily to a man out of work about to lose his home?  Can it come easily to his wife as she tries to make ends meet?  Can peace come easily to tired fold overdriven almost to the breaking point? Can peace come to parents wondering about what kind of indoctrination their children are receiving in school.  Can it come to parents wondering about careers for their children?  Can peace come to lonely souls who feel that this bustling world does not need them nor want them and that they are no use at all to any one?

     Our world, as it exists today, must accept much of the responsibility for strained faces and lives that have lost their peace.  But this era we are living in cannot shoulder all of the blame.  The real trouble lies deeper and we must look into our own hearts.  We must explore the causes of our own restless moods and feelings.  We must talk to our soul about that sense of strain.  Can we say, "It's not my fault, circumstances are to blame?"  No, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that answer will not fly.

Let's ask ourselves some questions.  Why do we ever grow irritable?  Why do our nerves get on edge so that we say things we regret the moment the words leave our lips?  Why do we try to cross bridges before we ever get to them?  Why do we find it difficult to relax?  Why are there those days when nothing seems to go right, days when work is a burden, people are exasperating and life is all worry and fret?  Do we blame the world for that?  Do we blame Washington?  The trouble is no doubt with ourselves,  It is inside us.  We lack the peace of Christ. 

     Does the idea of having peace appeal to us?  I don't mean the peace of lethargic ease or of a safe and sheltered life.  Neither do I mean the peace of the emotionless Stoic, one who achieves calm by doing violence to his affections and by damping down the fires of love and sorrow and pity in his heart.   I mean the peace that stands sentinel at the gateway of the soul,  The peace that confronts all manner of difficult things with steady eyes.  The peace that holds the heart serene through crowded days, through overwork and all the criticisms of men.  The peace that Jesus promises.

     Think of the pressures of His life, the things Jesus had to put up with.  Could we have stood it and remained calm?  Continual intrusions on His privacy.  No rest often from dawn to dark,  The steady drain upon His spiritual resources,  Inconsiderate people breaking in on His hours of quiet.  The burden of sharing every hurting heart's sin and sorrows.  Feeling those hurts and sorrows as if they were His very own.  The misunderstandings, cutting criticisms and pettiness of people.  The terrible, unremitting toil, the disappointments and crushing load of such a life.  Yet, on the face of Jesus there is no trace of nerves.  It is always, "My Peace".

     The peace of Jesus is the peace of adequate resources.  There are few things as wearing to the nerves as to face life with deficient spiritual resources.  Consciousness of inadequate resources can give us sleepless nights.  It weighs us down until we are utterly miserable.  It keeps us perpetually strained.

     There was nothing of that with Jesus.  He moved from one task to another without halting or haste.  He never had that haggard look of  one who has reached his limit.  The peace of Jesus was the peace of a supreme adequacy for life,  When we surrender our will to the will of Jesus, this peace can be ours.  It involves being obedient to the call of the gospel,  Obedience brings us into daily fellowship with God.   To have daily fellowship with God through Jesus is to have found a peace which nothing in life can ever take away.  Life may prove harsh and difficult.  Life may deny our dreams and half starve our hopes.  In Jesus Christ, we can find peace.

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