“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” [JOHN 14:27]. [1]
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Many will recognise this quote as the opening words of the Charles Dickens story, “A Tale of Two Cities.” Unsurprisingly, the words could easily be a description of our own situation today.
The world as we knew it has been changed—perhaps forever. Our world has been rocked by the Coronavirus pandemic. In our province, uncertainty seems to prevail. People are uncertain how to respond to the new challenges. We are being urged to “shelter in place,” and urged to practise “social distancing.” Social distancing is a concept which definitely requires considerable refinement before it can be applied to Christians. Followers of the Christ who are walking with the Lord Jesus would never isolate themselves socially. Perhaps a better term to be used by the people of God is to speak of physical distancing as a protective measure. We recognise the potential for communicating a disease, but we love one another deeply from the heart. Therefore, we cannot isolate ourselves or allow our brothers and sisters to be isolated. Governments are advising the populace to avoid exposing yourself to others in an attempt to suppress this strange, new virus. The concept appears to be to “flatten the curve,” allowing for a controlled spread of the disease to avoid overwhelming medical facilities.
My purpose in this message is not to dispense medical advice; there are a sufficient number of sites available online that provide the most accurate possible advice on how to lower the risk of exposing oneself to the virus and what one should do if he or she suspects they have contracted the virus. [2] Perhaps it is too much to ask in an age characterised by an emphasis on self-centred behaviour, but the steps for avoiding exposure to infection actually do consist of common sense practises. The rules for avoiding exposure demands that we override our desire to do what we want to do, and instead, make certain that we are considerate of others who are perhaps more vulnerable.
Practising church as we did before this crisis may not be possible for a long time. This current panic can serve as a reminder that the church is not brick and mortar; rather, the church is the people whom God has gathered to worship and to serve. Though we are not always able to gather in one place, we can ensure that we emulate the first disciples who were united in heart and mind. These first followers of the Risen Christ were committed to one another and to the Lord Jesus. They devoted themselves to worship and to prayer. They were said to be “of one heart and soul” [see ACTS 4:32]. We can ensure that Christ is revealed through our attitude and through our love for each other.
We actually don’t know if we will be able to gather on the day set aside to celebrate the resurrection of Christ the Lord, but we can ensure that our hearts are filled with His joy. We can worship, even if we are unable to gather as we did before this present crisis. While the world struggles to regain a semblance of normalcy, we who know Christ as Master over life can reveal the peace that comes from knowing Him. The world trembles in the face of uncertainty, but the one who knows Christ the Lord can reveal His peace by how they live during these uncertain times.
As He prepared His disciples for His Passion and for the fact that He would soon be leaving this world, Jesus encouraged those disciples by giving them a rich promise. That promise that the Master delivered to His disciples so many centuries past is a promise that has been seized upon and employed in the lives of His people since that day. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” [JOHN 14:27].
THE WORLD’S PEACE — “Peace I leave with you… Not as the world gives do I give to you” [JOHN 14:27]. Earth dwellers do seek peace, but somehow those living in the world never find what they are looking for. As the Master was teaching the disciples what would at last come upon the earth, you may remember that He cautioned them, and us, “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world” [LUKE 21:25-26a].
He was, of course, speaking of those events that would mark the days preceding His return. What is significant is the fear and sense of dread that will then settle universally over society. Uncertainty does induce a sense of foreboding in people, and the foreboding causes them to react in an attempt to protect themselves. They anticipate some evil action about to fall upon them and they either attempt to flee from what they think may happen or they prepare themselves for what they expect will be a conflict. In contradistinction to these reactions, Jesus taught His disciples to respond differently. Followers of the Christ are taught, “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” [LUKE 21:28].
Writing the Christians gathered in the city of Salonica, Paul reminded them of what he had taught during his brief stay with them. You may recall that Paul wrote, “Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” [1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-3]. Then, people will assure themselves that all is well, that there is no danger of anything changing. But then, the Lord will return, upsetting all the carefully prepared scenarios devised by mankind.
The world does want peace, but it has defined peace in a way that is unattainable. Those living for this world want stability of the conditions in which they live; but the world has always been a very unstable place. Inhabitants of this dying world want to be left undisturbed, they want to be unbothered so that they can attempt to amuse themselves or so they can pursue whatever diversion occupies their attention for this moment. Such conditions can never prove fulfilling, they can never satisfy because our hearts are unsettled. Long years past, the Wise Man, observed,
“Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.”
[PROVERBS 27:20]
The endless pursuit of something to satisfy the restless heart that is described in this Proverb is emphasised elsewhere in Scripture. For instance, consider what Solomon has written in that dark book that exposes mankind’s failure to find satisfaction. Solomon wrote,
“All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.”
[ECCLESIASTES 1:8]
I don’t doubt that Solomon was correct in this assessment. John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, was at one point the world’s richest man. He was the first ever American billionaire. Considering that he was a billionaire in the early 1900s, he is still considered the richest person in modern history. On one occasion, a reported asked him, “How much money is enough?” Rockefeller’s response was, “Just a little bit more.”
Elsewhere, as he surveyed the scope of humanity, Solomon observed, “Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, ‘For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?’ This also is vanity and an unhappy business” [ECCLESIASTES 4:7-8].
The Wise Man was aware that there is a restlessness that marks the life of people. They want what they say is peace, but the definition of the peace pursued is quite different from a peace that actually satisfies. Many years after Solomon wrote his assessment of mankind, the Apostle of Love cut to the heart of the matter when he wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” [1 JOHN 2:15-17].
Years ago, we would sing a song that spoke of the inability of the world to give joy, to give peace. The lyrics reminded us,
The world didn’t give it to me, and the world can’t take it away
The world didn’t give it to me, and the world can’t take it away
This happy face that I’m wearing, you know Jesus put it there to stay
And since the world didn’t give it to me, I said the world can’t take it away [3]
CHRIST’S PEACE — “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you… Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” [JOHN 14:27]. Well, what does Jesus give? This question is important, especially in light of what the world offers. Jesus doesn’t promise us a condition ensuring that we will be undisturbed. In fact, He cautions all who seek to follow Him, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” [JOHN 16:33b]. Despite the tribulation the child of God will encounter, Jesus has promised peace for those who follow Him. The Saviour promised, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace” [JOHN 16:33a]. Surely you will agree that this is a wonderful promise for the one who follows the Master.
As one who follows Christ the Lord, you are bluntly informed that you will know tribulation; however, you will have peace—peace that the world can never know. Obviously, Jesus does not promise that His people will never be confronted with trouble. He does, however, promise that we will be secure in our life because we will be grounded in Him. The Saviour promises that we will not be flabbergasted because we cannot cope with the trials that will be foisted upon us. Rather than terror and fear as the trials come, the one who follows the Master will be confident. The one who follows the Saviour will be secure in the knowledge that He is eternally safe in the Lord and that Christ will be glorified through His follower.
Usually, when I speak of the tribulations that are visited upon the child of God, I am speaking of the animosity, the virulence and bitter vituperation that comes from an angry, unbelieving world. However, what Jesus has said in this instance is applicable to the normal trials of this life. We are part of a broken race. As such, we are not immune to the problems that are common to a fallen world.
Economic panic will visit harm on the child of God as certainly as it will damage the portfolio of the unbeliever. However, the child of God has something the world cannot give. The one who follows Christ has received this instruction: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” [MATTHEW 6:19-21].
Sometimes we will be rejected by those we counted as friends. However, the one who follows the Master knows, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” [PROVERBS 18:24b]. As a child of the King, we are confident,
“Even if my father and mother abandoned me,
the Lord would take me in.”
[PSALM 27:10 NET BIBLE]
Illness affects the life of the follower of the Christ just as it does the life of the outsider. However, the one who knows Christ as Master of life is not living for this present world. When Lazarus was stricken with a serious illness and lay dying, Jesus did not hurry to his side. In fact, Lazarus did die, and his sisters were heartbroken. When the Master at last came, Martha hurried to meet Him. Her first words were, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” [JOHN 11:21].
The Lord’s response still proves to be comforting for the child of God. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” [JOHN 11:25-26].
Perhaps we are focused on the wrong destination. God has not promised that I will always be healthy and strong. In fact, I am susceptible to the same ailments that afflict all people. What He has promised is that as one who follows Him, I now have something quite different from mere existence. The one following Him no longer is living for the brief span that we call life, that one now possesses a new quality of life that He has identified as “eternal life.” It is a new quality of life that is able to realistically assess this present existence, weighing it in light of what is permanent.
The Apostle to the Gentiles assessed the difference between what we now experience and what is promised for each one who knows the Risen Saviour when he wrote. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” [ROMANS 8:18-25].
Paul is not denying that the child of God suffers. My step has slowed considerably from the days when I first began to climb the mountains of this beautiful province. I no longer wade in the swift streams to pursue the finny adversary that once received my attention—the legs don’t have the same strength that allowed that activity even a few years ago. I’m not likely to pack out the carcass of a moose shot in deep timber a couple of kilometers from the road. The pain from such a venture would incapacitate me for some time. Illnesses that I might have shaken off in an earlier day are now a serious threat. I’m not fearful of dying, but I don’t enjoy the experience of pain. The Apostle acknowledges that we will experience the weakness that accompanies the degeneration of our bodies.
If my focus is fixed solely on this present existence, I will assuredly be devastated by the reality of my decaying condition. From the moment of birth I am dying every day! Truly, the grey hairs testify to an irreversible condition that culminates in death. I will release everything that I count precious in this life, and I shall take nothing out of this life. As Scripture says, “We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” [1 TIMOTHY 6:7].
Well, that’s pretty bleak, isn’t it! Contrast that realistic assessment with the promise of the Saviour—if my focus is on what God has promised, I will not fear the transient pleasures offered by this present existence. Isn’t the reason we fear death is because we know that everything we hold dear in this life will be taken from us? Isn’t the reason we draw back from even acknowledging that we must die is that we know that death wins in the end? And yet, the one who follows the Lord has received a promise that what is now isn’t even worthy of a comparison with what is soon to be revealed.
The Word of God presents another perspective on death, and the one who is twice-born knows that death does not win—rather, Christ conquers! God has promised, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-57].
Since this perspective is true, though it isn’t always acknowledged, even by the people of God, the Word urges us as those who follow the conquering Christ, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:58].
Child of God, our nation is in a crisis. I do not suggest that we should be insensible to the panic our neighbours feel, but I am adamant that the Christian must not surrender to the panic. Christ has promised peace, and each follower of the Christ can know that peace, even now. Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL 2016)
[2] In BC, visit http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/common-questions; in AB, visit https://www.alberta.ca/restrictions-for-mass-gatherings.aspx.
[3] William J. Gaither, Gloria Gaither, Gary S. Paxton, “The world didn’t give it to me (and the world can’t take it away),” Paragon Music ©1976
