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What to Expect on Sunday |
Today is the third in our series on the nine fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22, 23. You’re probably becoming familiar with them by now, so read the passage along with me: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." And you’ll likely recall that a recurring theme throughout this series is stress, or disappointment, or frustration, or some similar thing occurs in our lives when we seek the fruit of the Spirit from…creation, rather than from the…Creator. That’s right. And today’s fruit is peace. Who doesn’t want peace in their lives? Whether from global conflicts, or in family relationships, or in our inner spirits, we all want peace. It brings to my mind these mattress commercials I’ve recently seen. They all have the same theme, but in the one that comes to mind a woman enters her bedroom with a cacophony of noise from children playing around her. She lays down on the mattress and the cacophony of noise disappears, replaced by peaceful music and sounds—birds singing, a gentle waterfall flowing. She raises her head and the noise of the children returns. Lays her head back down and the peaceful sounds return. We all want a mattress like that, don’t we? The commercial is a metaphor for our lives. In global conflicts—Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sudan, the Middle East—we wish we could simply lay our heads down and discover peace…or at least the conflict would go away. In family relationships—hard words between a mother and daughter, the ongoing hurt from a sibling’s words or actions, unresolved issues with our spouse—oh that we could just lay down and it all goes away. Our inner turmoil—bad news from our jobs, financial portfolios falling, uneasiness over our own actions that damaged a relationship—wouldn’t it be great if we could just lay our heads down and all of it goes away, replaced by peaceful bliss? But we know the harsh reality. Global conflicts continue. Family relationships remain strained. Our insides continue to churn. There’s no magic mattress. Yet, it is a peace like that God wants to give us. Not a peace that hides or masks reality, but a peace that rises above whatever circumstances we face. A peace "which transcends all understanding," (Philippians 4:7, NIV), "which passes all understanding," (RSV & KJV), "which surpasses all understanding," (NASB). God wants to give us a peace that is beyond comprehension, that cannot be explained or understood to the casual observer. Some examples: A few weeks ago I saw a story on the nightly news a couple, I don’t recall their names, who were victims of Bernard Madoff’s ponzi scheme. They’ve lost most of their retirement income, yet, they were not destroyed by the experience. Both spoke about their faith in Christ, their trust in Him and how that would see them through. There was a peace there that was incomprehensible to those who knew about the couple’s circumstances…and witnessed their living out their faith. A peace that transcends all understanding. There is also the example of Horatio Spafford, the writer of the hymn we’re singing throughout today’s service, It is Well With My Soul. Do you know his story? Spafford was a wealthy businessman in 1870’s Chicago. In 1873, he placed his wife, Anna, and their four children on a ship sailing from New York to France. Spafford was forced to remain behind for a few weeks to take care of business after which he would join his family. On the family’s trip across the Atlantic, the weather was beautiful and the ocean remarkably calm. Despite that, in the middle of the night the sleeping passengers were awakened by a loud sound like thunder followed by people screaming. The passenger ship, the Ville du Havre had been rammed by an English vessel, the Loch Earn. Mrs. Spafford watched her four children being swept away before she collapsed into unconsciousness. Rescued by sailors from the Loch Earn, Anna Spafford was one of only 47 survivors. She wired her husband the devastating news, "Saved alone." Spafford made plans to immediately sail for England where his wife was recuperating. But before he left Chicago he told a friend of his, "I am glad to trust the Lord when it will cost me something." In other words, trusting the Lord when things are going well is easy. Trusting the Lord during difficult times is another matter. Spafford asked the captain of his ship to inform him when the passed the place where the Ville du Havre went down. When they reached the place, Spafford sat in his cabin and composed the words to the hymn, It is Well With My Soul. When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. A terrible tragedy, the loss of all four of his daughters, yet Spafford was able to find a peace that attended him like a river and write a hymn that has inspired thousands. It is a peace that is beyond our comprehension. That kind of peace, the peace that is written about in Scripture, is much more than the absence of conflict…what we normally think of with the word peace. It is the peace of the one Hebrew word you all know—Shalom. Shalom is a peace that encompasses a person’s entire being—and it comes as a gift from God, as described in the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24-26: The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you…peace. The Greek word for peace is eirene. In classical Greek it was used exclusively in reference to war—the antithesis of war, or the result of cessation of war. Only later, in a few writings of the Stoics is the word eirene/peace used to describe a spiritual quality, but those cases are still very rare. However, in the New Testament it’s used almost exclusively in the style of shalom, a peace that involves the total well being of a person. It is a peace that comes only from God, a peace that is found only in Jesus Christ. The Dictionary of New Testament Theology describes it this way: "This peace is neither the Stoic’s withdrawal from the world nor a pious flight into spirituality and mystical contemplation. It is the joyful assurance of sharing already the peace of God as one goes through life and looks to eternity. So, do you want peace like that in your life? A peace that is more than an absence of conflict, but a deeper inner peace that is based in the presence of God in your life and His faithfulness? A peace like a couple in Florida who have watched their nestegg for their retirement mostly disappear, yet continue to trust in God? A peace like Horatio Spafford, who despite a horrible family tragedy can write the words, "It is Well With My Soul," inspiring thousands through their own difficulties in life? Do you desire a peace in your life that is constant and not fleeting at the whim of circumstances in your life? It’s found only in God. Without God there’s no real peace, only a truce, a temporary halt to the conflict, whether it be global, in families, or in ourselves. But sought in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we can know real peace. Ash Wednesday is a week and a half away, the beginning of Lent. It is a season in the church year that is especially noted for a time of reflection and contemplation. Often, people "give up something" as a faith discipline during Lent. I want to suggest something different. Rather than giving something up for Lent, let’s take something on for Lent. Let’s focus on the fruit of the Spirit, perhaps identifying one fruit we especially need, and spend time with God seeking to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit. Every day spending some time in intentional prayer seeking God, praising God for who He is, asking Him to fill us with the fruit of His Spirit; asking Him for more joy in our life, more peace, more patience, more self-control…whatever fruit we feel we especially need, or all the fruit of His Spirit that He desires to give us. Let’s use the coming season of Lent to discover Him more at work in our lives than we ever knew before. And in the process, discovering a peace in our lives that is beyond our ability to understand it or explain it. |
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