S4P3 – The fruit of peace

Gal 5: 22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such things there is no law.

If we want a peaceful spirit, we must be at peace with the Holy Spirit.  This means submission, the giving over of control and obedience.  We also must remember that the peace promised in this passage is internal. Jesus told us that the world would bring us troubles and hate us just as He was hated.  He also warned that our faith can divide families, forcing one to choose between Christ and a father or sister.  Life may be chaotic, but we can still have peace in the midst of the chaos.

In John 16:33, Jesus says I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  This message of consolation comes after Jesus tells his disciples that, after He is gone for a little wile, they will see him again.  This is a message of comfort that despite what we experience in this order of things, we have a greater existence to look forward to beyond the current state of this world.  The peace imparted to us by the Holy Spirit is the peace that what we see before us today is not all there is.  We have the promise of a great eternity with our Lord.

This life and its worries are but a vapor.  Beyond them lies the eternal glory we share with Christ [Rom. 8:17].  No matter the turmoil that life brings, rest in the peace of the promise that you have a perfect eternity with God waiting for you.  As that eternity already has begun, we already can enjoy God’s perfect peace.  The question is whether we will allow the Holy Spirit to do his work and produce that fruit in us here and now.    Father, help us to continue walking in your Holy Spirit so that we may grow in your peace.