The souls of men seem to be “in sin and error pining”.
All hopes are dashed into fears.
We are all longing for peace.
There was a man who understood our sinfulness.
In fact, he took our sins unto himself and calmed the storms.
When he was born, the angels proclaimed his peace to all men of goodwill.
At the end of his earthly life, his parting words were:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
When he walked the earth, he showed the way to true and lasting peace.
It used to be that people lived their lives through prohibitions.
“Thou shall not do this. Thou shall not do that.”
He changed all that and taught a radical way of living.
“A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.“
He showed the power of love being stronger than hate.
It is like the light conquering the darkness,
or like mercy and compassion being more powerful than hatred and vengeance,
or like evil surrendering to the power of goodness.
From prohibitions to liberation.
Love and you can do as you wish.
But it is not going to be easy. He reminded his disciples:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
And then he admonished them:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.“
And in the same breathe, he calmly assures us:
Do not fear.
Be not afraid.
There words are found 365 times in the Bible.
A daily assurance from the Lord.