Peace

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23)
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​As we continue to work through the fruits of the Spirit, there in Galatians 5:22-23, Paul says the third fruit, the third indicator that someone has been born of the Spirit, that a person is truly saved is peace—love, joy, peace.  What does that mean?  What does it mean to have peace, to experience the peace that comes from God?  Jesus says to his disciples in John 14:27, “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.”  Thus, the peace that comes from knowing Christ is unlike anything we can derive from the world.  If we think about that for a moment, how does the world give peace?  How does the world give anything?  The world never gives anything consistently nor permanently.  Anything that comes from the world and brings peace, will not last forever because the world is constantly changing.  If you derive peace from knowing you have good health, someday that may change.  If you derive your peace from having a secure job and steady income, someday that may change.  If you derive your peace from being a part of a healthy church, someday that too may change.  If you derive your peace from enjoying life in this world, someday that will change.  But scripture tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” and that in Christ “all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in him” (Heb. 13:8; 2 Cor. 1:20).  Peace, true peace, everlasting peace, is a fruit--an evidence—of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit because those who are in union with Christ derive their peace from him, from being dependent on him, leaning on him, loving him, trusting him, and knowing that Christ will always be there for them--leading them, loving them, caring for them.  Christ is where true and consistent peace comes from.