Wholeness in Him

"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

 

In the scripture above Jesus is speaking to His disciples, trying to encourage and build them up, because He is soon approaching the cross.  The disciples are worried about Jesus leaving them, aka, going to the cross.  But, what they aren't fully comprehending Him saying in the moment is that there is no need to be afraid because He is leaving with them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Furthermore, to add to this, God promises never to leave or forsake us (Deut 31:6; Heb 13:5), but nonetheless He is encouraging the disciples in this context.  The same is true for us however, Jesus will never leave us or forsake us, and if we believe in Him, as reborn creatures, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit that will lead, teach, convict, and rebuke us all when necessary, in order that we mature in Christ.  All of this is a big part of the message Jesus is trying to leave with His disciples as He is preparing for the passion of the cross.  But, what He also promises in this passage is peace.  And not only that, His peace.  You see, it is key here that Jesus mentions that He does not give as the world gives.  Although this sentence about "not giving as the world gives" may seem a little out of place, it certainly is in perfect alignment.  What I believe Jesus is trying to tell His disciples, and tell us, is that His peace in not like the peace we get from the world.  We try everything and anything to get peace in the world.  And as technology and society move super fast into newer and newer innovation, there are many more ways the world offers us peace.  Just think about it, think about literally any advertisement.  The heart of them all, is trying to sell you peace.  If you get the newest this, it will give you peace.  If you get the most comfortable that, then you will finally have peace.  If you run your relationships in this way, then you will have peace.  If you do it that way, then there's even more piece.  You can fill in the blanks yourself, the world offers us peace in so many ways.  Many are not good, and all are temporary.  The reason we are all on this journey for peace is because we have a deep down desire and instinct created in us that yearns to be made whole, and in relationship with God.  The problems come when we fill that whole with earthly things.  These often turn into depression, anxiety, addiction, and the like because we find that the things of this earth never fill that void.  When Jesus says, "peace I leave with you", He is saying 'Shalom" I leave with you.  This is a Hebrew word for peace.  The best translation for this is "wholeness".  So what Jesus is really saying is 'wholeness' I leave with you", 'wholeness I give to you".  Because Jesus is the only One that can ever truly fill that whole inside of you.  He is the only One that can ever make you feel truly satisfied, because He fills our spiritual void.  Today, analyze where you are looking for peace.  Where are you trying to find wholeness?  Come to Jesus today and find rest, peace, and wholeness in Him.  Love you all!  Praying for you and yours!  Have a blessed day, it's your choice!