June 19 - Romans 5: Peace With God

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (5:1 ESV)

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us - set us right with him, make us fit for him - we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. (5:1 Msg)

"Peace isn't the passive quality of not being bothered; it's the active life of being a participant in God's work in his creation. We say, "Give me a little peace." We say it to children who pester us, and we mean for them to stop their incessant interruptions and questions. The peace the world gives - if it gives any at all - is a removal, a subtraction of something from us, what amounts to a diminishing of life. What Christ gives is an intensification, an increase, an addition to the lives we normally live. The kind of peace Jesus offers is "[having] it all together with God." And when we have it all together with him, it paves the way to having it all together with ourselves and with others." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 1745

I vividly remember what life was like before I knew Christ. I was driven, ambitious, insecure in ways I tried not to show, and desperate to find some meaning in life. My work consumed me because that's where I thought I'd find security and purpose. The adventure of my job filled my tank for awhile, but it didn't take long for me to be dissatisfied with that as my god. I sensed the futility in it, knowing it would never deliver what I hoped for, but didn't know what else to do.

So I looked for peace in financial security, in friendships, in romantic relationships, in professional success, in fun adventures, and on and on and on. Nothing, and no one, ultimately satisfied my soul until I met Jesus.

"There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

The realities of life are the human part of what finally drove me into Jesus' waiting arms. And in the years since then, He's radically changed the trajectory of my life in every possible way. Everything is different - my values, my ambitions, my passions, my desires, and my activities, to name a few. Life hasn't been diminished by what God has pruned away; with Christ, it's been intensified, as Peterson says.

And it's not through any of my own efforts; it has only been by entering through faith what God always wanted to do for [me] - to set [me] right with him, to make [me] fit for him. Because of Master Jesus, I trust that I have it all together with God.

And by living in that reality and being an active participant in God's work, my faith continues to pave the way to having peace with myself and peace with others. Not perfectly, of course, this side of heaven, but I know that peace with God through Jesus was only the beginning of something beautiful in my life.