May 4, 2024
What is the "peace of God"? It's what God actually gives you to help you deal with life on life's terms. Tragedy and suffering will happen. So will laughter and joy. Whatever life throws at us, we can handle it well. The peace of God will strengthen us, and we will be able to trust Him no matter what life throws our way. Such a gift is invaluable, for many reasons. The closest single word I could find to describe this peace, is serenity, implacable serenity, the kind that enables virtues like courage in the face of evil, or when faced with a difficult decision.
These are my own words, my understanding of this passage of Scripture. For a day or two now, I've been thinking a lot about the meaning of it. I'm not entirely sure I understand the deeper spiritual meaning of this passage, because I'm not a theologian (not even a secular philosopher). "We see through a glass darkly", as St. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:12. There's definitely a pattern going on here, a recurring theme centered on the love of God for us, and what that means. Because of the peace He gives us when we embrace Him, we can show others the joy, courage and strength that such union with God gives us, and lead them to accept the salvation that comes from Jesus.
